Steel sheathed/CFS framed shear walls under dynamic loading: Numerical modelling and calibration

• Steel sheathed/CFS framed shear walls subjected to dynamic lateral loading.
• Development of non-linear dynamic models of tested shear walls using OpenSees.
• Shear strength vs. drift hystereses, time histories and energy dissipation comparison.
• Recommendations of modelling topology, element types and parameter values.
• Example of non-linear time history dynamic analysis of CFS framed building.

This paper describes the numerical modelling using OpenSees of shear walls constructed of cold-formed steel (CFS) framing and flat steel sheathing. The first phase comprised non-linear models calibrated using existing reversed cyclic shear wall test data. The second phase involved more advanced models calibrated using data from dynamic shake table tests of single- and double-storey shear walls and additional ancillary component testing. These advanced models were able to accurately reproduce the shear strength and displacement time history and hysteretic response of the dynamically tested shear walls. The use of a building model that incorporates the second phase wall models is demonstrated for the evaluation of representative CFS framed structures using non-linear time history dynamic analyses.