Comparative Study on Cold-Formed Steel Single-Stud and Multiple-Studs Wall Panels with Magnesium Oxide Sheathing under Axial Loading: Experimental and Analytical

Abstract

A comprehensive study has been carried out experimentally and analytically on the axial performance of sixteen (16 nos.) cold-formed steel (CFS) wall panels including one bare CFS wall frame, sheathed CFS walls, and single-column stud (with and without sheathing). In the present study, the effect of Magnesium Oxide (MgO) double-layer sheathing on the axial strength of CFS panels (if applied on one-side or both-sides), which has not been addressed before, is investigated in detail. The impacts of various parameters, such as screw spacing, joint detailing, and number of layer of sheathing on axial strength of CFS wall panels have been studied and some important conclusions are drawn. The experimental axial strength of single-stud and multiple-studs CFS wall panel (CFSWP) specimens have also been compared with analytically predicted values. Analytical modeling of CFSWP with MgO board sheathing is carried out by simulating the equivalent stud restraint provided by a screw-sheathing system by considering springs, as specified in some literatures. Thereafter, the constrained and unconstrained finite strip method (CUFSM) Tool version 4.05 is used to carry out an elastic buckling analysis of the stud with sheathing-based springs. Consecutively axial strength of CFSWP has been calculated using the direct strength method (DSM) as per AISI S100 (Appendix 1). The analytical results are found to be in agreement with the experimental results.