Formulas for Wood Shear Walls

Formulas are presented for the analysis of typical wood-frame shear walls with sheathing attached by nails or other types of discrete fasteners. Formulas are derived for the sheathing fastener forces, for the linear shear stiffness of a wall, and for the nonlinear shear load-strain behavior of a wall. These formulas are shown to be in agreement with the results of load tests and of finite element, linear, and nonlinear analyses. Details of the load tests and finite element analyses are given. The formulas are relatively simple and should be applicable to the design of wood frame shear walls with plywood or other types of sheathing.