Axial performance of cold-formed steel single-stud wall panels with dissimilar fibre-cement and calcium silicate boards sheathing configuration

Abstract

In practical applications, it is typical for different types of sheathings (referred to as dissimilar) to be connected at both flanges of the stud (lipped channel-section) in cold-formed steel (CFS) panelised construction (e.g. one-side has interior sheathing and the other exterior sheathing). However, limited studies are available on the axial behaviour of CFS studs with different combinations of sheathings present at both-flanges of a stud. This novel experimental study investigates the structural behaviour of fourteen (14) CFS panels with sheathing on one-side only and different sheathing on both flanges of the wall panel using combinations of seven (7) different sheathing boards [fibre-cement boards (FCB) (8 mm/10 mm/12 mm thick); calcium silicate boards (CSB) (12 mm thick); and heavy duty FCB (6 mm/9 mm/12 mm thick)]. The ultimate axial strength, load-deformation behaviour and failure patterns are the parameters compared. Analytical/semi-analytical design methodologies namely; Rayleigh-Ritz (R-R) method, finite-strip method based on direct strength method (DSM) and differential equation of equilibrium method (DEEM) are validated based on the experiments. Limited studies are available to verify the efficacy of these methods to estimate the axial strength of CFS wall panels with dissimilar sheathing on both flanges. Results establish that DSM may be used efficiently rather than the R-R method and DEEM.