Non-prescriptive fire design of sheathed cold-formed steel columns

• Grant number: 14/26217-9
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: May 01, 2015
• End date: April 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Civil Engineering - Structural Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Carlos Marcos Vieira Junior
• Grantee: Luiz Carlos Marcos Vieira Junior
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FEC). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Campinas

Abstract

Cold-formed steel studs are commonly attached to wallboards (sheathing) to become walls, floors, and roofs of modern buildings; this building technique is known in Brazil as steel frame. Steel frame have become popular in building construction due to their high strength-to-weight ratio and ease of construction. Consequently, design specifications, and structural analysis tools have rapidly evolved to facilitate engineering design of these complex thin-walled members. In fires, however, the strength of steel frame systems is assured by prescriptive detailing and standardized testing, which limits the structural engineer and prevents innovation. A thorough literature review has shown that in order to develop a non-prescriptive fire design method it is still necessary to perform experiments to characterize the steel and sheathing, the connection between stud and sheathing, as well as experiments of steel frame sub-systems, especially sheathed cold-formed steel columns. It is also necessary, through finite element models, to better understand the behavior and interaction between steel frame elements during a fire. Thus, having all the information gathered from this research project, it is possible to propose a fire design method for columns that is non-prescriptive, efficient, and reliable. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ABREU, JEAN C. BATISTA; VIEIRA JR, LUIZ C. M.; GERNAY, THOMAS; SCHAFER, BENJAMIN W.. Cold-formed steel sheathing connections at elevated temperature. FIRE SAFETY JOURNAL, v. 123, JUL 2021. (14/26217-9)

ABREU, JEAN C. BATISTA; VIEIRA JR, LUIZ C. M.; MORENO, ARMANDO LOPES; GERNAY, THOMAS; SCHAFER, BENJAMIN W.. Experiments on load-bearing cold-formed steel sheathed studs at elevated temperatures. THIN-WALLED STRUCTURES, v. 156, p. 10-pg., 2020-11-01. (14/26217-9)

LUIZ CARLOS M. VIEIRA JUNIOR; BENJAMIN W. SCHAFER. Fastener Demands for Sheathing-Braced Cold-Formed Steel Stud Gravity Walls. LATIN AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOLIDS AND STRUCTURES, v. 13, n. 6, p. 1167-1185, 2016-06-00. (14/26217-9)