Experimental study on seismic behavior of cold-formed steel shear walls with reinforced plastered straw-bale sheathing

• DOI: 10.1016/j.tws.2021.108303
• Publication Date: 2021-09-06T16:29:53Z
• Authors: Zhihua Chen; Huaishuan Sun; Baozhu Cao
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0201 civil engineering

Abstract In this study, a cold-formed thin-walled steel (CFS) shear wall with built-in straw-bale and welded-wire-mesh-cement-mortar sheathing is proposed, which has good thermal insulation performance. To evaluate the seismic behavior of the CFS shear wall, a cyclic loading test was conducted on two full-scale specimens, and the failure mode, the bearing capacity, lateral stiffness, ductility, and energy dissipation were obtained. The results showed that the welded-wire-mesh-cement-mortar sheathing could replace the wood-based board as the structural board; furthermore, it had a remarkable horizontal bearing capacity even after severe cracking owing to the synergistic effect with straw bales. The built-in straw-bale and the welded-wire-mesh-cement-mortar sheathing were well bonded. The failure mode of the CFS shear wall depended on the connection between the sheathing and the steel keel, and the use of self-drilling screw and washer connections was suitable. From the load–displacement curve obtained from the test, a mathematical model that can represent the nonlinearity, pinch, strength degradation, and stiffness degradation characteristics of the load–displacement curve was established, using the Richard–Abbott curve. A finite element model validated by the experimental investigation is used to generalize the experimental observations from this study to other common configurations.