Composite Concrete-Steel Plate Walls: Analysis and Behavior

This paper presents some of the results of a study involving the ultimate and postpeak capacity of composite concrete-steel plate walls subjected to transverse and longitudinal loading. The main application of these composite walls lies in the design of offshore structures subjected to large forces from wave action or moving ice. In this study, a nonlinear finite-element approach is used to determine both ultimate strength and post-peak capacity of a selected composite wall system. The frictional and contact interface between steel and concrete is modeled. Numerical results are compared with those obtained from experiments for a variety of wall geometry and loading configurations. Insight into the behavior of the walls is readily obtained in terms of the modes of failure, load carrying mechanism, stress redistribution, and postpeak response.