Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
Nonstructural partition walls are usually specified based on the best practice without any structural design calculations. However, given the likely severe earthquake damage to nonstructural components and the substantial cost of repair to such components, it is imperative that we develop an understanding of the seismic response of the nonstructural partition walls when subjected to earthquake loading conditions. The main objective of this investigation is to experimentally evaluate the effectiveness of utilizing low cost damping protection system in improving the seismic performance of the steel stud partition walls. Nine full scale wall specimens of 4.0 ft wide and 8.0 ft high were divided into three groups of different damping systems. Three specimens were constructed with Single Damping System (SDS), three specimens with Double Damping System (DDS) and three wall specimens with No-Damping System (NDS) in order to have a basis for comparison. Wall specimens were subjected to in-plane cyclic loadings for drifts ranging from 0.25” to 2.75” (0.3 to 3% drifts of wall height). Seismic evaluation included both ductility capacity and energy dissipation. Test results revealed that, although, damping does not influence wall capacity, it improves ductility and delays damages to later drifts. Incorporating damping system increased wind load capacity and seismic load capacity by 50 and 700% respectively. Also, ductility factors and cumulated dissipated energy increased by 40 and 112% respectively for SDS and 83 and 137% for DDS. The research study concluded that the low cost protection damping system significantly improved the seismic performance of the partition wall systems.
Highlights
In the last two decades the world suffered an increase in major earthquakes hazards
Given the high cost of repair of the nonstructural components, it is essential that we develop better understanding of the seismic behavior of nonstructural wall systems, including partition walls
Three groups of wall specimens were tested under cyclic loading using this loading protocol and the load-displacement curves were generated using the data recorded for load and displacements by the data acquisition device
Summary
In the last two decades the world suffered an increase in major earthquakes hazards. The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and the US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded one hundred and ten (110) earthquakes in 2014 with a major magnitude of 8.2 occur in Chile and forty two (42) earthquakes in the first five months of the year 2015 with a major magnitude of 7.8 struck Nepal causing hundreds of thousands of lives and hundreds billions of US dollars in losses. As a results of these investigations, it was reported that the majority of the earthquake damages were in the non-structural components such as plumping connections, air-condition and heating ducts, partition walls and building contents. Ryan et al (2011) reported that the cost of repair/replacement of non-structural components due to earthquakes could reach about 75% of the total estimated cost of buildings. Great part of this cost is due to partition walls which includes direct cost to repair or replace the walls and indirect cost as falling partition walls damages building contents and devices
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
