Numerical Analysis of Strengthened Steel Stud Bearing Walls to Resist Disproportionate Collapse

Abstract

Cold-formed steel stud load bearing walls have three framing components that can be utilized to enhance the resistance to disproportionate collapse in case of wall section removal from the structure; the wall lateral bracing, the wall studs, and added diagonal tension straps.Strengthening of the walls with tension straps has shown to redistribute the load of the lost wall section to the system and to enhance the resistance to disproportionate collapse in a previous paper of the authors. This paper extends the findings of the single multi-story wall system to the full 3D structure. The effects of the 3D interaction and the membrane action of the composite floor deck are investigated. The redistributed load after wall section removal is supported by the added wall strengthening system. The double studs showed effectiveness in preventing the wall from experiencing disproportionate collapse. Due to the rigidity of the composite deck floor, the diagonal strap system did not carry much force but it helped to redistribute the loads to other parts of the building.