Mechanical Behavior of CCA Wall Infilled Steel Frames with Preset Vertical Slits

In view of the unfavorable interaction between the steel frame and cellulose fiber cement sheets autoclaved (CCA) wall, preset vertical slits are adopted on the wallboard. Four 1:2-scale, single-bay, and single-storey steel frames, one bare steel frame, one CCA wall infilled steel frame without any measures, and two CCA wall infilled steel frames with different patterns of a slit, were tested under low cyclic load. The failure mode and additional stiffness of the CCA wall were obtained from the test. Besides, the effects of the vertical slits on hysteretic performance, bearing capacity, and the stiffness degradation of specimens were also studied. It was found that the preset vertical slits were effective in delaying the cracking of the CCA wall, and in reducing the additional stiffness of the CCA wall for the steel frame structures. To further study the failure characteristics of CCA wall, the finite element models of the CCA wall infilled steel frames were established and verified against the test results. The findings in this paper will have a certain reference value for the future research and engineering applications of similar steel frames with infill walls.