NEHRP Clearinghouse
- Title
- Investigation of the Seismic Resistance of Interior Building Partitions, Phase I.
- File
- PB81210973.pdf
- Author(s)
- Anderson, R. W.; Lee, Y. C.; Savulian, G.; Barclay, B.; Lee, G.
- Source
- National Science Foundation, Washington, DC. Engineering and Applied Science., February 1981, 89 p.
- Abstract
- This study investigates the effective participation of wood-framed interior shear wall partitions when determining the ultimate resistance capacity of two- and three-story masonry apartment buildings to seismic loading. Load vs. deflection tests were performed on 8 ft by 8 ft wall panel specimens constructed of four different facing materials, including wood lath and plaster, gypsum lath and plaster, and gypsum wallboard with joints placed either horizontally or vertically. The wood lath and plaster construction was found to be significantly stronger and stiffer than the other three specimens. Analyses of the test panels using finite element methods to predict their static resistance characteristics indicated that the facing material acts as the primary shear-resisting structural element. Resistance of shear wall partitions to lateral loads was assessed using a partition layout with floor-to-ceiling interior walls. Maximum shear values of transverse partitions were compared with shear values obtained by testing wood lath and plaster wall panels. These partitions may contribute significantly to the lateral load resistance of pre-1933 masonry buildings. Potential building applications of this research can utilize existing interior partitions as shear walls and strengthen these systems when additional shear wall resistance is required.
- Keywords
- Shear walls; Framed structures; Mathematical models; NTISNSFRA; Walls; Loads (Forces); Dynamic response; Finite element analysis; Earthquake engineering; Apartment buildings; Earthquakes; Dynamic structural analysis