Shear resistance of cold-formed steel framed shear walls with 0.686 mm, 0.762 mm, and 0.838 mm steel sheet sheathing

Abstract The cold-formed steel (CFS) framed shear walls using steel sheet sheathing is a code approved lateral force resisting system in residential and low-rise commercial buildings in the United States. The current design specifications in the US provide nominal shear strength for a limited range of CFS shear wall configurations in terms of sheathing thickness and wall aspect ratio. This paper presents a research project aimed to add shear strength values for 0.686 mm, 0.762 mm, and 0.838 mm steel sheet sheathed CFS shear walls with aspect ratios of 2:1 or 4:1. The project consisted of two series of tests. The first series was monotonic tests for determining the nominal shear strength for wind loads. The second series was the cyclic tests using CUREE protocol to obtain the shear strength for seismic loads. The studied shear walls used 0.838 mm or 1.092 mm thick CFS framing members. The sheathing was only attached to one side of the frame. No. 8 modified truss head self-drilling screws were used for all the test specimens. This paper details the testing methods, specimen configurations, and the test results.