iv ABSTRACT SEISMIC DESIGN OF COLD FORMED STEEL STRUCTURES IN RESIDENTIAL APPLICATIONS Uygar, Celaletdin M.Sc., Department of Civil Engineering Supervisor: Prof. Dr. &Ccedil / etin Yilmaz May 2005, 82 pages In this study, lateral load bearing capacities of cold formed steel framed wall panels are investigated. For this purpose lateral load bearing alternatives are analyzed numerically by computer models and results are compared with already done experimental studies and approved codes. In residential cold formed steel construction, walls are generally covered with cladding material like oriented strand board (OSB) or plywood on the exterior wall surface and these sheathed light gauge steel walls behave as shear walls with significant capacity. Oriented strand board is used in analytical models since OSB claddings are most commonly used in residential applications. The strength of shear walls depends on different parameters like screw spacing, strength of sheathing, size of fasteners used and aspect ratio. SAP2000 software is used for structural analysis of walls and joint force outputs are collected by Microsoft Excel. The yield strength of shear walls at which first screw connection reaches its shear capacity is calculated and load carrying capacity per meter length is found. The nonlinear analysis is also done by modeling the screw connections between OSB and frame as non-linear link and the nominal shear capacities of walls are calculated for different screw spacing combinations. The results are consistent with the values in shear wall design Guide and International Building Code 2003. The other lateral load bearing method is flat strap X-bracing on wall surfaces. Various parameters like wall frame section thickness, flat strap area, aspect ratio and bracing number are investigated and results are evaluated. The shear walls in which X-bracing and OSB sheathing used together are also analyzed and the results are compared with separate analyses.

Atualmente, os perfis de chapa dobrada têm encontrado intensa aplicação como elementos estruturais nas construções em aço e como consequência, estão sujeitos aos mais diversos tipos de carregamentos. Este trabalho apresenta os aspectos gerais do dimensionamento de perfis de chapa dobrada submetidos à flexão enquanto utilizados como vigas propriamente dito e, também, enquanto utilizados como terças. Analisam-se seções tipo U, tipo U enrijecido e tipo Z enrijecido. Os ensaios em perfis fletidos foram realizados sobre 3 diferentes condições de carregamento, com dois vãos distintos, em um total de sessenta e quatro perfis ensaiados. Para os perfis conectados às telhas de aço, os ensaios foram realizados em uma \"caixa de sucção\" desenvolvida especificamente para este projeto. Os perfis foram conectados às telhas pela mesa por meio de parafusos auto-brocantes, sendo realizados quinze ensaios. Os resultados dos ensaios são comparados com os resultados teóricos, resultados normatizados e resultados de alguns procedimentos aproximados. / Nowadays, the cold-formed steel members have intense application as structural elements in constructions and, in consequence, they are subjected to several types of loads. This work presents the general aspects of the study of cold-formed steel members subjected to flexion used as beams and, also, as purlins. Sections of type U, type C and type Z are analysed. The tests in beams were carried out under three different conditions of loads, with two distinct spans, in total of sixty four tests. For the purlins connected to roof system, the tests were in a \"suction box\", developed especially for this project. The purlins were connected to the roof system by the flange by using self-drilling screws, being carried out fifteen tests. The results of those tests are compared with the theoretical results, design specification provisions and results of some approximated procedures.

Terças de aço formadas a frio são muito utilizadas em sistemas de cobertura e fechamento. Para conferir continuidade entre tramos adjacentes e possibilitar um melhor aproveitamento de material, são empregadas ligações parafusadas por transpasse e com luva. O comportamento estrutural dessas ligações é muito dependente da sua configuração geométrica e do nível de carregamento. Com base em uma série de nove experimentos e análises teóricas, o comportamento estrutural dessas ligações foi investigado no tocante aos esforços resistentes e à rigidez. Observou-se que o modo de falha tem sempre uma componente distorcional significativa e uma resistência menor que a prevista pela metodologia atual de projeto. No caso do momento fletor resistente, a distribuição de tensões de flexão oblíqua é a que melhor se aproxima do comportamento real das terças, sendo possível a partir de uma análise de estabilidade elástica considerando tal comportamento, e, baseado no método da resistência direta e na curva de dimensionamento do modo distorcional, obter uma previsão segura do momento fletor resistente. Além disso, a rigidez da ligação, com relação aos deslocamentos verticais é bastante dependente do tipo de ligação, sendo que as terças com ligações por luva são mais deformáveis que terças sem ligações. Por outro lado, terças com ligações por transpasse são menos deformáveis que terças fisicamente contínuas. As parcelas de rigidez da ligação são apresentadas, e a componente de deformação do furo é a mais significativa. Uma expressão para deduzir a rigidez rotacional da ligação é apresentada, juntamente com um modelo de barras para modelagem da ligação. Os resultados teóricos se ajustam muito bem aos experimentais. Conclui-se em linhas gerais, que as ligações por transpasse podem ser consideradas plenamente satisfatórias do ponto de vista de comportamento estrutural, sendo que terças com essas ligações são mais resistentes e rígidas que terças com continuidade física. O mesmo não ocorre nas terças com ligações por luva, porém, dada a limitação no número de ensaios, tais ligações carecem mais estudos. / Cold-formed steel purlins are widely used in roofs and wall systems. The continuity of long runs of cold-formed steel purlins is guaranteed by sleeve and overlap bolted connections, which allows a better load distribution and material savings. The structural behavior of these connections is highly dependent on their geometric configuration and load level. The strength and stiffness of these connections were determined through a series of nine experiments, numerical and analytical analysis. Results have shown that distortional buckling has a major contribution on the stability analysis of the cold-formed steel purlin. To safely determine the flexural strength of the purlin, one must consider unrestrained bending stress distribution and distortional buckling. The connection type influences the rigidity of the purlin thus the vertical displacement. Purlins with overlapped connections are stiffer than physically continuous ones, although purlins with sleeved connections are not. The bearing deformation at the connection region is responsible for a reduction in the system stiffness. To account for the change in stiffness and determine the vertical displacement, an expression for the bearing stiffness and a beam model are proposed. The results of this model show good agreement with experimental data. The general conclusion of this research is: overlapped bolted connections enhance the structural response of the purlins when compared to physically continuous ones. The same does not hold true for purlins with sleeved connections.

The use of the cold-formed steel sheet bolted connections without washers is so significant; however, the North American Specifications for the Design of Cold Formed Steel Structural Members, NASPEC, doesn't provide provisions for such connections. The bearing failure of sheet and the shear failure of sheet were considered in this study. For the sheet shear strength, it was found that the NASPEC (2007) design provisions can be used for oversized holes in both single and double shear configurations and for the double shear connections on short slotted holes. For the sheet bearing strength, a new design method was proposed to be used for low and high ductile steel sheets. The method was compared with the NASPEC and the University of Waterloo approach. Washers were still required for single shear connections on short slotted holes. Besides, connections using ASTM A325 bolts yielded higher bearing strength than connections using ASTM A307 bolts.

In this research, monotonic and cyclic tests on cold-formed steel shear walls sheathed with steel sheets on one side were conducted to (1) verify the published nominal shear strength for 18-mil and 27-mil steel sheets; and (2) investigate the behavior of 6-ft. wide shear walls with multiple steel sheets. In objective 1: this research confirms the discrepancy existed in the published nominal strength of 27-mil sheets discovered by the previous project and verified the published nominal strength of 18 mil sheet for the wind design in AISI S213. The project also finds disagreement on the nominal strength of 18-mil sheets for seismic design, which is 29.0% higher than the published values. The research investigated 6-ft. wide shear wall with four framing and sheathing configurations. Configuration C, which used detailing, could provide the highest shear strength, compared to Configurations A and B. Meanwhile, the shear strength and stiffness of 2-ft. wide and 4-ft. wide wall can be improved by using the seismic detailing.

In cold-formed steel (CFS) construction, bolted connections without washers for either oversized or slotted holes may significantly expedite the installation process and lower the cost. However, the North American Specification (AISI S100, 2007) for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members requires washers to be installed in bolted connections with oversized or slotted holes. A research project (Phase 1) sponsored by American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) was recently completed at the University of North Texas (UNT) that investigated the performance and strength of bolted CFS connections with oversized and slotted holes without using washers. The research presented in this thesis is the Phase 2 project in which the bolted CFS connections were studied in a broader respect in terms of the failure mechanism, the material thickness, and the hole configurations. Single shear and double shear connections without washers using oversized holes, oversized combined with standard or slotted holes were experimentally examined. Combined with Phase 1 results, the Phase 2 gives a comprehensive evaluation of the behavior and strength of bolted CFS connections with oversized and slotted holes without using washers. Revisions to the existing AISI North American Specification requirements for bolted connections are proposed to account for the reduction in the connection strength caused by the oversized and slotted hole configurations without washers. Specific LRFD and LSD resistance factors and ASD safety factors for different hole configurations in terms of the new proposed methods were presented.

Cold-formed steel connections are commonly fastened using self-tapping self-drilling screws. The behavior of these connections can differ based on the screw manufacturer or the cold-formed steel product used, both of which have a large selection available for use in industry. Because of their popularity and the many possible variations of these connections, researchers have frequently tested screw connections to characterize their behavior. However, repeatedly conducting this type of experiment is time consuming and expensive. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to create finite element models that can successfully predict the behavior of single lap shear screw connections, a common connection type used in cold-formed steel framing. These models were created using the finite element program Abaqus/CAE. To validate these models, test results from Pham and Moen (2015) were used to compare the stiffness, strength, and failure mode of multiple connections. A parametric study is also conducted to determine the influence of contact parameters on the behavior of the model. The results showed that all models consistently had good agreement with the connection stiffness and that most of the models also had good agreement with the peak load and failure mode of the v tests. These results were also compared to the design equations available for screw connections from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). This comparison revealed that the models are more successful at predicting screw connection behavior than AISI, and thus work is required to improve the accuracy of AISI’s design equations. The eventual goal of this work is to develop a procedure to build and validate models without requiring test data. This work continuing in the future can lead to recommendations to improve AISI’s design equations and to implement the behavior of the connections into large cold-formed steel framing models such as diaphragms or shear walls.

Thermal bridging can be defined as the phenomenon where a structural element spanning the building envelope acts like a thermal pathway which collects and moves energy (heat) from the interior to the exterior of the structure. CFS construction, due to the high thermal conductivity of steel with respect to its surrounding structural components and repetitive nature of framing, is highly prone to thermal bridging. Thermal bridging significantly alters the thermal performance of wall assemblies. Hence, the objective of this research project was to quantify the magnitude of energy loss through cold-formed steel (CFS) stud wall assemblies at a component level to lay the groundwork for future works that promote sustainable, energy-efficient, and improved building design recommendations. Therefore, a parametric evaluation was performed using ISO 10211:2007, Annex A, conforming heat transfer software Blocon Heat3 version 8 to generate the data required for analysis. 80 unique wall assemblies and the impact of selected parameters on the overall thermal transmittance of the wall assembly were studied as part of the parametric evaluation. The key variables of the study are steel thickness, stud depth, stud spacing, cavity insulation R-value, external insulation thickness (R-value), and fastener diameter and length. Based on the results of the analysis, effects of increasing stud and track thickness, depth, and stud spacing have been discussed in the form of trends in overall heat flow and linear thermal transmittance coefficient values. Additionaly, effects of increasing external insulation have been discussed by addressing changes in heat flow.

This thesis presents two major sections with the objective of introducing a new cold-formed steel (CFS) shear wall system with corrugated steel sheathings. The work shown herein includes the development of an optimal shear wall system as well as an optimal slit configuration for the CFS corrugated sheathings which result in a CFS shear wall with high ductility, high strength, high stiffness and overall high performance. The conclusion is based on the results of 36 full-scale shear wall tests performed in the structural laboratory of the University of North Texas. A variety of shear walls were the subject of this research to make further discussions and conclusions based on different sheathing materials, slit configurations, wall configurations, sheathing connection methods, wall dimensions, shear wall member thicknesses, and etc. The walls were subject to cyclic (CUREE protocol) lateral loading to study their deformations and structural performances. The optimal sit configuration for CFS shear walls with corrugated steel sheathings was found to be 12×2 in. vertical slits in 6 rows. The failure mode observed in this shear wall system was the connection failure between the sheathing and the framing members. Also, most of the shear walls tested displayed local buckling of the chord framing members located above the hold-down locations. The second section includes details of developing a Finite Element Model (FEM) in ABAQUS software to analyze the lateral response of the new shear wall systems. Different modeling techniques were used to define each element of the CFS shear wall and are reported herein. Material properties from coupon test results are applied. Connection tests are performed to define pinching paths to model fasteners with hysteretic user-defined elements. Element interactions, boundary conditions and loading applications are consistent with full scale tests. CFS members and corrugated sheathings are modeled with shell elements, sheathing-to-frame fasteners are modeled using nonlinear springs (SPRING2 elements) for monotonic models and a general user defined element (user subroutine UEL) for cyclic models. Hold-downs are defined by boundary conditions. A total of three models were developed and validated by comparing ABAQUS results to full scale test results.

This thesis presents a research effort aimed at developing a stronger, lighter, and more economic shelter using rigid wall panels. Reported herein is insulation research, wall and roof panel design and testing, floor section modeling and strength calculations, and cost and weight calculations. Beginning stages focus on developing solid wall and roof panels using cold-formed steel corrugated sheathing and members, as well as polyurethane spray foam for insulation. This research includes calculating uniform load density, to determine the overall strength of the panel. The next stage focuses on the flexural strength of the wall and roof panels, as well as finalizing the floor design for the shelter. This includes determining maximum flexural strength required to meet the standards set by the project goal. Direct strength method determined the correct thickness of members to use based on the dimension selected for the design. All Phases incorporated different connection methods, with varied stud spacing, to determine the safest design for the new shelters. Previous research has shown that cold-formed steel corrugated sheathing performs better than thicker flat sheathing of various construction materials, with screw and spot weld connections. Full scale shear wall tests on this type of shear wall system have been conducted, and it was found that the corrugated sheathing had rigid board behavior before it failed in shear buckling in sheathing and sometimes simultaneously in screw connection failures. Another aspect of the research is on the insulation of the wall panels. Research was conducted on many different insulation options for the mobile facilities. Specifically, insulation made of lightweight material, is non-combustible, added rigidity to the structure, and has high thermal properties. Closed cell polyurethane spray foam was selected for full-scale testing in this research. Closed cell polyurethane adds extra rigidity, is lighter than common honeycomb insulation, and has a higher R-value. Several polyurethane foam companies were studied for this research, and promising products were identified. The research focuses on the impacts of the polyurethane foam to the structural performance of the wall panels. Both shear and 4-point bending tests were completed to investigate the strength and behavior of the cold-formed steel framed wall panels with polyurethane foam insulation. Comparing the cost and weight of the current shelter, and the new design is reported herein. The material studies, specimen details, and test results are reported in this thesis.