Static Behavior Of Light-gauge Slotted Steel Stud Enclosing Wall With Considering The Contribution Of The Panels

The light-gauge enclosing wall was convenient, efficient and light in weight. However, the thermal bridge effect of the steel studs is significant, which cannot meet the requirements of building insulation in cold regions. By slotting the web of studs with multi-rows of long narrow holes, the heat transfer path can be considerably increased and hence can improve the insulation properties of lightgauge walls without significantly affecting their mechanical behavior. Previous researches indicated that the insulation performance of these walls is 30% higher than that of the walls without slots. Such innovative walls are called as light-gauge slotted steel stud walls which have broad application prospects as enclosing walls. Existing research results showed that the cladding panels have a great contribution on the bending stiffness and bearing capacity of the wall, which have not been considered in existing design methods. Designing method to account for their contribution has not been proposed either. This paper conducted experimental and numerical studies to quantify the contribution of different kinds of cladding panels to the bearing capacity of the enclosing walls. The distribution of stresses in the panel under the uniform load was determined which will become the foundation for proposing designing method. The main contents of this dissertation are listed below:(1) Experimental study on the flexural behavior of slotted steel wallsSeven simply supported slotted steel walls were tested to failure under uniformly distributed loads. Considered parameters include the web height of studs and the material type of panel. Mid-span displacements, steel studs strains, panel strains, failure modes were recorded and discussed. The influences of key parameters on the flexural rigidity and bearing capacity of the specimen, the strain distribution of panels were also investigated. The contribution of different kinds of cladding panels on the resistance of the wall to distributed loading were compared and specified.(2)Establishment and verification of finite element modelsThe finite element models(FEM) were built up with ABAQUS to investigate the static responses of standard slotted steel wall elements to uniformly distributed loading. The spring element was used to simulate the connection between the cladding panel and the studs provided by self-tapping screws. The reliability of the models were verified with experimental results on failure modes, load versus midspan displacement curves and strain distribution along panels.(3)Parametric study on the static responses of slotted steel walls to uniformly distributed loading using FEMThe static behavior of slotted steel wall elements subjected to uniformly distributed loading was numerically investigated with ABAQUS. Considered parameter includes the web height of studs(100, 120, 150 and 200mm), the steel plate thickness of the studs(0.7, 1.0, 1.2 and 1.5mm), the distance between the studs(400 and 600 mm) and the material type of panel(gypsum boards and fiber enhanced cement boards). The influence of the above parameters on failure modes, stiffness and bearing capacity of the specimens, and their influences on the effective width of the panels were investigated, which can provide references to propose design formula for the prediction of effective width of panels.