Steel plate shear walls have received extensive attention in the past few decades and, through research, have become a viable lateral load resisting system option for buildings, particularly in seismically-active regions. They have shown a high level of lateral strength and ductility, with ample redundancy and robustness under severe cyclic loading. However, other potential applications of this system have largely been neglected, even where similar properties would be desirable. One such application is as an element in protective structures for industrial environments that could be prone to experiencing accidental explosions. In this study, a comprehensive steel plate shear wall finite element model for use in protective applications has been developed. The model includes mixed-hardening, strain-rate effects, and damage initiation and evolution for steel materials. With the application of the finite element method, pressure-impulse (P-l) diagrams for selected structural responses for both in-plane and out-of plane blast orientations have been developed. The effect of wall size on the P-l diagrams and the governing response criteria have been studied. Also, the corresponding weight-standoff distance diagrams for the selected responses have been developed. The potential of the steel plate shear wall system in this protective application is discussed.
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