Experimental study of the shear resistance of cold-formed steel stud walls

In order to investigate the shear resistance of cold-formed steel stud walls, seven full-scale 3m×2.4m(height by width)specimens were tested under monotonic loading and cyclic loading, respectively. Factors that influence the shear resistance of cold-formed steel stud walls, including material behavior of sheathing, loading pattern and opening ratio, were studied, and the failure mechanism, bearing capacity, stiffness, ductility and energy dissipation coefficient of specimens were obtained. Experimental results show that the material behavior of sheathings greatly influences the shear resistance of the walls. The shear resistance of the single calcium silicate board (CSB) wall is about 1.3 times that of the single oriental strand board (OSB) wall, while the ductility of the single CSB wall is lower than that of the single OSB wall. Loading pattern also exerts significant influence, in that the shear resistance of the specimen under monotonic loading was higher 13% than that of the specimen under cyclic loading. When all specimens have the same configuration, the shear resistance decreases with the increase of the opening ratio.