Hysteretic characterization of cold-formed steel stud-to-sheathing connections

• Cyclic and monotonic tests on cold-formed steel-sheathing connections were performed.
• Impact of steel thickness, fastener spacing, and sheathing type were explored.
• Hysteretic pinching response is fully-characterized.
• Design recommendations are formulated.

The series of experiments reported here aims to characterize the hysteretic behavior of the connection between cold-formed steel (CFS) studs and sheathing when subject to in-plane lateral demands. This connection provides the key energy dissipating behavior in wood sheathed CFS shear walls, and provides bracing to the studs under gravity and out-of-plane loads. A testing rig is developed consisting of two CFS lipped channels facing toe-to-toe connected on the flanges by sheathing (oriented strand board, or gypsum board) and cycled such that the eight connecting fasteners experience shear. Sheathing configuration, fastener spacing, steel thickness, and fastener type are varied to determine connection performance. The dominant role of sheathing type and stud thickness is highlighted in the results. The hysteretic behavior of the experimental results is summarized for further use in the analysis of shear walls and under gravity and lateral load. The work serves as a supplement to North American efforts to advance seismic performance-based design of CFS structures and is part of a larger effort to better understand CFS lateral force resisting systems.