Evaluation of Bending Capacity of a New Type of Cold-Formed Steel Frame Wall Sheathed by Fiber-Cement Pressure Panels

This paper presents experimental research and finite element analysis (FEA) on a new type of frame wall that has fiber cement pressure (FCP) panel as sheathing. Some new structural details for the connection and energy conservation are proposed. In order to evaluate the bending capacity of the FCP frame wall, eight specimens with the parameters of stud spacing, connection styles, window opening, and loading sides were tested under uniformly distributed loads. The measurements of each material property were taken before the bending tests. Failure modes, load-deformation curves, and the strain of some key points were all obtained. The results indicate that the designed parameters affected the ultimate bearing capacity and failure mode of the specimens. Moreover, a non-linear FE model was made and verified against the tests. Results of FEA agree well with the experiment in failure modes and load-deformation curves. Therefore, FEA was confirmed as reliable for the prediction of the loading process. Finally, extended parametric analysis of FCP frame wall was conducted.