Experimental investigation of seismic behaviour of low dissipative CFS strap-braced stud walls

•The seismic design was carried out by considering a non-dissipative behaviour (q = 1).•The global response was investigated through monotonic and cyclic tests on walls.•A good agreement between experimental and theoretical expected results was obtained.•The wall inelastic behaviour was affected by non-ductile phenomena.

The adoption of a constructive system in seismic area is related to the clarity and direct applicability of the reference technical code. The use of Cold-Formed Steel (CFS) products for structural applications in seismic area has not been properly contextualized in the current European technical standard. In order to bridge this gap, many national and international companies are promoting experimental activities with the main aim of investigating and interpreting the seismic behaviour of these systems. In this framework, an important collaboration between the University of Naples “Federico II” and the Lamieredil S.p.A. company started in the last years. In particular, the research activity involves the experimental characterization of the seismic response of strap-braced CFS walls by means of monotonic and cyclic tests on full-scale prototypes. Furthermore, in order to evaluate the influence of the main structural components on the global response, the experimental campaign is completed with tests on materials and main connection systems.