Design Criteria for Seam and Sheeting-to-Framing Connections of Cold-Formed Steel Shear Panels

In recent years important research activity has been undertaken in order to determine the earthquake performance of light gauge steel house structures. Usually, studies approach the problem of earthquake performance through experiments on wall panels conducted either under monotonic or cyclic loads. All studies underline the overwhelming importance that the behavior of the connections has in determining the overall performance of wall panels. However, although these studies focused on the global behavior of the panel, they did not try to characterize the behavior of and provide design criteria for connections, as components of the structural system, and to provide relevant design criteria. The present paper attempts to fill this gap.