Low damage seismic solutions for non-structural drywall partitions

Non-structural drywall partitions are the most common lightweight partition type used in buildings (especially in US and NZ). They are usually bounded by either a structural frame or by two floor slabs, which makes them damage prone due to imposed inter-storey deformations. The loss of serviceability occurs at very low drift levels, sometimes lower than the design limits set by the current international standards. As part of a research programme for the development of low damage seismic solutions for non-structural vertical elements, experimental and numerical studies have been carried out. This paper will initially report the inherent low seismic performance of drywalls constructed as per typical practice. Then, the developed low damage solutions, capable of reaching high levels of drift without loss of serviceability will be reported. These solutions have been developed based on refinements of existing drywall detailing. An overview of the connection details and of the results of the experimental campaign is herein reported for steel and timber framed drywall practices. The experimental results were integrated with numerical analyses based on a lumped plasticity approach model developed in Ruaumoko2D. A case study building representing a ten storey reinforced concrete building designed according to the NZ Concrete Standard NZS3101 (Part 1: the design of concrete structures. Concrete structures standard, vol 3101. New Zealand Standard 2006) was subjected to a set of ground motions recorded during the 4th September 2010 and the 22nd February 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch. The experimental and numerical campaign confirmed the enhanced performance of the proposed low damage solutions for drywall partitions, based on simple reconfiguration and detailing of the traditional solutions adopted in current practice.