Analytical Models for the Seismic Performance of Gypsum Drywall Partitions

Abstract

Gypsum drywall partitions may contribute significantly to the lateral strength and stiffness of woodframe structures, whether or not the walls are explicitly designed for that purpose. This paper proposes analytical models to determine the lateral shear strength and initial elastic stiffness of wood-framed gypsum wall panels, taking into account the effects of wall geometry, door and window openings, connector type and spacing, and wall boundary conditions. The strength and stiffness models are incorporated in a multilinear curve to describe the monotonic lateral shear versus deformation response of the walls. Additional parameters to calibrate the response of a peak-oriented hysteretic cyclic model are also proposed, thus making the models suitable for nonlinear time-history simulations of woodframe buildings. The models are developed and validated using published data from 16 shear tests of full-scale gypsum wall panels.