Influence of Fire on the Seismic Shear Capacity of Cold-Formed Steel Shear Walls

Published

June 25, 2018

Author(s)

Blanca Andres Valiente, Matthew Hoehler

Abstract

Lightweight construction using cold-formed steel (CFS) stud represent roughly 20 % of the multi-story nonresidential building market in the United States. During an earthquake, these buildings rely on the performance of their lateral force-resisting system (LFRS). While there is extensive information about the structural and fire performance of cold-formed steel construction, there is scarce knowledge about the performance CFS-LFRS under combined multi- hazards, such as mechanical and fire loading. Initial tests on earthquake-damaged steel- sheathed CFS shear walls under natural fire load showed a change in failure mode from local to global buckling and highlighted the significance of the response of the gypsum on the overall fire and load-bearing behavior. A second phase of the project extends the study to multiple levels of fire loading and two additional CFS-LFRSs: (1) Oriented Strand Board (OSB) shear panels, and (2) steel-strap braced CFS walls. Walls are tested under combined mechanical and thermal loading. The mechanical loading setup nominally follows ASTM E2126 and the fire load is provided by a natural gas diffusion burner located in a compartment placed next to the wall. Tests are performed at ambient conditions and under three different fire loads representing (1) the ASTM E119 standard fire, (2) a severe natural fire, and (3) a mild natural fire. Results from this study are intended to provide data for a range of system performance under realistic conditions and will inform fire compartmentation design when significant lateral deformation of the building is anticipated, post-fire assessment to repair or replace a structure, as well as first responder decisions to enter a building when earthquake aftershocks are likely.

Proceedings Title

Eleventh U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering

Conference Dates

June 25-29, 2018

Conference Location

Los Angeles, CA, US

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

cold-formed steel, shear wall, lateral force-resisting systems, fire, earthquake, fire following earthquake, structure-fire interaction

Citation

Andres Valiente, B. and Hoehler, M. (2018), Influence of Fire on the Seismic Shear Capacity of Cold-Formed Steel Shear Walls, Eleventh U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Los Angeles, CA, US, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=924628 (Accessed October 9, 2025)