Testing and performance of steel frame/wood panel shear walls

Light gauge steel frame/wood panel shear walls are more commonly being used in the residential and low-rise building markets. However in Canada, no design guide for these shear walls has been published. Furthermore, although laboratory investigations that cover the performance of light gauge steel frame/wood panel shear walls with different sheathing material have been carried out, no analytical methods have been developed to predict the in-plane stiffness and strength of light gauge steel/wood panel shear walls based on member and connection properties.; This thesis has two main objectives. One is to investigate the performance characteristics of various configuration light gauge steel frame/wood panel shear walls under monotonic and reversed cyclic loading. The second is to recommend an effective analytical model, which relies on sheathing-to-framing connection test results and the mechanical properties of structural sheathing and steel frame members, to predict the resistance and deflection of shear walls subjected to lateral loads. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...