New cold-formed steel shear wall design guide

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI), technical council of the Steel Framing Alliance (SFA), announced today the publication of a new Design Guide: Cold-Formed Steel Framed Wood Panel or Steel Sheet Sheathed Shear Wall Assemblies. CFSEI’s Shear Wall Design Guide helps engineers, specifiers, and architects develop a better understanding of the latest code requirements with respect to lateral design using cold-formed steel framing, and in particular how shear wall applications can be incorporated into designs meeting the new codes.

The Shear Wall Design Guide provides insight on the latest code provisions, guidance for shear wall and shear wall component design, and addresses design and detailing requirements for wind and seismic forces, including the special detailing required in high-seismic areas. It contains practical examples based on AISI S213-04 (AISI-Lateral): Standard for Cold-Formed Steel Framing – Lateral Design, referenced by Chapter 22 of the 2006 International Building Code (IBC) and AISI S213-07 referenced by Chapter 22 of the 2009 IBC.

Primary author of the Shear Wall Design Guide, Jeff Ellis, P.E. S.E., of Simpson Strong-Tie Co., Inc. in Brea, Calif. served as President of CFSEI from 2007-2008, and chaired the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Committee on Framing Standards (COFS) Lateral Design Subcommittee during that group’s development of AISI S213-07.  “Light-frame shear walls are an most economical method for transferring loads imposed by wind and earthquakes, and they’ve been used successfully as lateral force resisting elements for years.” Ellis said. “The Shear Wall Design Guide is a valuable new resource for contemporary building designers, exploring both wood panel and steel sheet sheathed shear wall assemblies used to resist wind and seismic forces with design and detailing examples conforming to new code requirements.”

The Shear Wall Design Guide consists of four main sections:

• Section I – Provides information and background on the code requirements for and design of shear walls, describes shear wall types, and discusses the design of shear walls and shear wall assembly components, and seismic design considerations. It contains information on changes to structural requirements for light-frame structures brought about in the 2006 IBC, which references AISI S213-04 (AISI-Lateral) and ASCE 7-05 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures.
• Section II – Contains five shear wall design examples illustrating shear wall design using LRFD as well as ASD, wood panel as well as steel sheet sheathing, use of different shear wall types, and the design of shear walls resisting wind as well as seismic forces.
• Section III – Explores shear wall component design and drift analyses using several of the design examples from Section II.
• Section IV – Contains various details pertaining to the examples used in the previous sections.

The CFSEI Shear Wall Design Guide is available for purchase from the SFA/CFSEI online store by visiting www.cfsei.org or www.steelframing.org.