Steel and Composite Structures

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Fire resistance tests of LSF walls under combined compression and bending actions

  • Received : 2021.10.28
  • Accepted : 2022.05.21
  • Published : 2022.05.25
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Abstract

Cold-formed steel wall panels sheathed with gypsum plasterboard have shown superior thermal and structural performance in fire. Recent damage caused by fire events in Australia has increased the need for accurate fire resistance ratings of wall systems used in low- and mid-rise construction. Past fire research has mostly focused on light gauge steel framed (LSF) walls under uniform axial compression and LSF floors under pure bending. However, in reality, LSF wall studs may be subject to both compression and bending actions due to eccentric loading at the wall to-roof or wall-to-floor connections. In order to investigate the fire resistance of LSF walls under the effects of these loading eccentricities, four full-scale standard fire tests were conducted on 3 m × 3 m LSF wall specimens lined with two 16 mm gypsum plasterboards under different combinations of axial compression and lateral load ratios. The findings show that the loading eccentricity can adversely affect the fire resistance level of the LSF wall depending on the magnitude of the eccentricity, the resultant compressive stresses in the hot and cold flanges of the wall studs caused by combined loading and the temperatures of the hot and cold flanges of the studs. Structural fire designers should consider the effects of loading eccentricity in the design of LSF walls to eliminate their potential failures in fire.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to thank Australian Research Council (Grant Number LP170100951) and National Association of Steel Framed Housing (NASH) for providing financial support and QUT for providing the required research facilities. They appreciate the valuable technical guidance and support provided by NASH Executive Director Ken Watson, and NASH Standards Committee members to this research study. They also extend their appreciation to the Banyo Laboratory technical staff for their support to the experimental study. Finally, the authors acknowledge the generous contributions of BLUESCOPE® Steel, ENDUROFRAME® and USG BORAL® in providing the required CFS studs and plasterboards.

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