Effect of middle stud on ultimate strength and behavior factor of brick masonry shear wall in cold formed steel frame

AbstractLightweight steel framing is one of the modern construction technology systems. This system is mostly used for low to mid-rise buildings. The lightweight steel framing system has many advantages, including lightness, ease of installation, high execution speed, and being more cost-efficient. Since the manufacturers of cold formed steel frames use bricks in an unprincipled way to cover these structures and because of less laboratory research in this regard, in the present research to principled use of this structure, the effect of the middle stud was evaluated on seismic behavior of brick shear wall in cold formed steel frame with brick face. For this purpose, four cold formed steel frames were made in two different configurations (without middle stud and with middle stud) using cement sand mortar, wire mesh, and brick shear walls. Based on the results, the middle stud would cause weakness in the permissible deformation of the brick walls, and in shear walls without middle stud, deformations occur along with the acquisition of resistance to larger deformations. Accordingly, the presence of the middle stud increases the average shear strength by 30%, and this increase in resistance causes a decrease in the behavior factor and ductility of the walls, which practically indicates the seismic behavior of the frames with the middle stud.