Numerical Modeling of Wall-Stud Shear Panels for Analyzing Seismic Performance

The cold formed steel frame sheathed with wood-based or gypsum-based panels named as shear wall panel is a main lateral load bearing component in light steel houses. Seismic performance of shear wall panels depends on racking strength and ductility of the shear wall. In this paper, a finite element model has been developed to study the seismic performance of shear wall panels based on pushover analysis of the wall. The finite element model has been validated with the experimental results of different experimental tests. Using the validated model, a parametric study has been performed to determine strength, ductility and force reduction factor of shear wall panels with different wall properties such as span width, type of sheathing material, thickness of frame members and screw spacing

Keywords:

Light steel framing , Shear wall panel , Seismic performance , Lateral strength , R-factor