Strength and Stiffness of Walls with Wood and Steel Studs

Maximum deflections, stresses, and slips at service loads and at ultimate loads of wood-stud walls were compared to those of steel-stud walls. Full-size walls, built according to current construction practices, were tested experimentally and by computer simulation with an accurate theoretical procedure for obtaining data for comparison. Steel walls failed suddenly because of buckling and yielding of flanges. Wood walls failed gradually and sustained additional load after the first stud failed. Test results showed load sharing in wood walls was superior. Steel walls, however, deflected more uniformly. An increase in the stiffness of connections between wall coverings and studs improved the performance of both wall types by increasing ultimate load and decreasing maximum deflection, stress, and slip; but the performance of wood walls improved more than that of steel walls. An increase in the stiffness of wall coverings improved load sharing for both types of wall but had only a negligible effect on deflection and ultimate load of either wall type. Results of this study show that improved construction and design procedures would benefit wood-stud walls more than steel-stud walls.

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