In this paper, the strip model developed by others and implemented in a Canadian Standard to model steel plate shear walls (SPSW) is used to develop, investigate, and quantify, through plastic analysis, the various possible collapse mechanisms of SPSW. Comparisons of experimentally obtained ultimate strengths of steel plate shear walls and those predicted by plastic analysis are given and reasonable agreement is observed. Modifications are proposed to a section of an existing codified procedure for the design of steel plate walls which is shown could lead to designs with less-than-expected ultimate strength. In addition to the above, this paper also describes the results of an experimental study to determine the feasibility of light-gauge SPSW for use in the seismic retrofit of buildings. Three specimens were constructed and tested under quasi-static loading, one using a corrugated infill and epoxy connection to the surrounding frame, one using a flat infill with an epoxy connection to the surrounding frame, and one using a flat infill with a welded connection to the frame. The flat infill with the welded connection reached a ductility ratio of 12 and had substantially superior behavior when compared to the other two specimens.
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