Numerical evaluation of shear strength of CFS shear wall panel with OSB sheathing

Abstract

Outside of the American Iron and Steel Institute AISI S400-15 limitations of Shear Wall Panel (SWP) height-to-width (h/w) aspect ratio, the present paper puts forward a sufficiently detailed Finite Element Modeling (FEM) using “Abaqus” software, capable to evaluate with a reasonable precision the shear strength of Cold Formed Steel (CFS) SWP with Oriented Strand Board (OSB), under lateral load. In terms of nonlinear response, shear strength and failure modes, the numerical results of the SWP with and without an opening are validated against available experimental data, accounting for nonlinear mechanical and geometrics characteristics, as well as the nonlinear behavior of connection. Subsequently, the conducted comprehensive parametric studies have revealed that the variation of the screw spacing, from 50.8 mm up to 152.4 mm, provides a nonlinear variation of shear strength that cannot be extrapolated for different screw spacings. In addition, the shear strength of a two-sided OSB-sheathed SWP is less than twice one-sided OSB-sheathed SWP. Furthermore, the door’s and window’s openings’ position between the center and the edge of the SWP provide the best performance in terms of shear strength up to 33 % and 24 % than the center and edge openings’ positions respectively.