| Cold-formed steel (CFS) is recently being used for load bearing structure as an alternative for wood. This thesis compares their seismic performance.; Both wood and CFS walls use sheathing to resist shear. Past tests on wood and CFS shear walls showed fastener failure as common failure mode. The thesis objective was to test CFS and wood fasteners and compare results to monotonic and dynamic tests of fasteners and shear walls by others.; Tests show different fastener failure modes for load applied parallel or perpendicular to panel. Parallel tests simulate actual load conditions better. A test protocol for single fastener was also developed. Test results show higher strength but tendency of stud buckling of CFS walls. Tests of a device to break the thermal bridge of CFS studs, were unsatisfactory. This requires more research. |
