Composite Shear Wall Assembly Could Speed Construction of Steel Frames

The sandwich, called a dual-plate composite shear wall because its steel- plate walls are filled with lightly reinforced concrete, is not for use only in seismic zones. The system is promising for multi-hazard mitigation because it is good for seismic, wind and gravity loads as well as blast resistance. Haiti's second largest university is planning to start a master's in earthquake engineering, jumping off a series of seminars that trained some 500 local designers in the fundamentals of seismic design. An American manufactured homebuilder expects to get approval to construct a plant to build earthquake-resistant structures in Haiti.