Compression-Bending Strength and Stiffness of Walls with Utility Grade Studs

Four wood-stud walls were constructed with Utility grade Engelmann spruce studs, according to minimum specifications of the Federal Housing Administration, and tested to destruction under combined vertical and horizontal loads. Studs for the wall construction were selected from a representative sample by a simulation procedure. This procedure allowed selection of the test walls from the 1- to 2-percent range on the cumulative frequency distribution of the estimated wall strengths. The ultimate loads of test walls were 2.5 to four times stronger than 20 psf, the minimum design wind load. Tests showed that walls built with Utility grade studs would perform satisfactorily in most areas of the United States. Properties of representative samples of Engelmann spruce and Douglas-fir studs of Utility grade were evaluated. The results showed that the moduli of elasticity and rupture favorably compare to the tabulated design values. The results also indicated that the strength ratio distribution of the studs sampled in 1972 differed little from those sampled in 1964.

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