Experimental investigation on lateral behavior of novel hybrid cold-formed steel walls with composite sheathing

This paper proposes a new hybrid cold-formed steel (CFS) wall system with thick corner columns to improve the lateral performance of CFS structures. 16 CFS walls with various composite sheathing, diagonal bracing, and corner configurations, including ten hybrid and six conventional walls, are experimentally tested to investigate their lateral behavior and performance under monotonic and reversed-cyclic lateral loading. The experimental results demonstrate that the effect of the diagonal bracing varies depending on the presence of sheathing and the type of CFS wall. The shear capacity of both types of CFS walls without sheathing is highly improved by diagonal bracing. On the other hand, the diagonal bracing effect on the double-sided sheathed conventional wall is negligible. The brace-to-track connection causes diagonal bracing to exhibit different capacities and behavior under compression and tension. It should also be noted that the effect of loading mode on lateral performance varies depending on the configuration of the hybrid walls. The loading mode effect on the shear capacity of hybrid walls with sheathing is negligible, whereas its impact on the shear capacity of hybrid walls without sheathing is observed to be up to 14%. The wood-fiber cement board as sheathing material increases the shear capacity and stiffness of CFS walls while decreasing their ductility. Overall, compared with the conventional walls, proposed hybrid walls with a certain level of ductility demonstrate higher shear capacity and stiffness and comparatively less energy absorption capacity.