Influence of Fire on the Lateral Load Capacity of Steel-sheathed Cold-Formed Steel Shear Walls - Report of Test

Published

December 19, 2016

Author(s)

Matthew S. Hoehler, Christopher M. Smith

Abstract

A series of fourteen experimental tests on six 9 ft. × 12 ft. (2.7 m × 3.7 m) shear wall specimens consisting of cold-formed steel framing sheathed on one side with light-gauge steel adhered to gypsum board and on the opposite side with plain gypsum board were conducted at the National Fire Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The specimens were subjected to various sequences of simulated seismic shear deformation and fire loading to study the influence of structure-fire interactions on the lateral load bearing capacity of the walls. The test program was designed to complement a parallel test series to investigate a full-scale six-story building subjected to earthquakes and fires. The test results indicate that the fire loading caused a shift in the failure mode of the walls from local to global bucking of the sheet metal with an accompanying 35 % reduction of load capacity.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 8160

Report Number

8160

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

DOI Link

Keywords

cold-formed steel, shear walls, earthquake, fire, fire following earthquake

Citation

Hoehler, M. and Smith, C. (2016), Influence of Fire on the Lateral Load Capacity of Steel-sheathed Cold-Formed Steel Shear Walls - Report of Test, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8160 (Accessed October 17, 2025)