Experimental and Analytical Validation of a Fastener Bearing Test as a Means of Evaluating the Bracing Characteristics of Plasterboard

Abstract

The beneficial bracing characteristics of plasterboard have recently been incorporated into Australian design standards for residential structures. There is a need to develop control procedures, commensurate with these enhanced design guidelines, to control the quality of plasterboard such that its manufactured properties conform with the bracing characteristics assumed. This paper reports the findings of a study into the adequacy of existing plasterboard quality tests as a measure of its bracing capacity. The paper also reports the development of a new test method, described herein as fastener bearing test, as an alternate quality control method for bracing capacity of plasterboard. This fastener bearing test is subsequently validated through an extensive experimental program and analytical modelling. The paper concludes that the proposed test is a reliable method to assess the bracing capacity of plasterboard. It has also established the validity of a simple closed-form mathematical approach to ascertain the lateral capacity of clad framed walls.

Keywords

light-framed structures plasterboard gypsum timber construction shear resistance bracing

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

ASTM (2000). ASTM-C473: Standard Test Methods for Physical Testing of Gypsum Panel Products, Pennsylvania, USA.

ASTM (1998). ASTM-E72: Standard Methods of Conducting Strength Tests of Panels for Building Construction, Pennsylvania, USA.

Easley

J.T.

Foomani

and Dodds

R.H.

(1982). “Formulas for wood shear walls”, Journal of Structural Division, ASCE, Vol. 108, No. 11, pp. 2460–2478.

Experimental Building Station (1978). TR440 Guidelines for Testing and Evaluation of Products for Cyclone-prone Areas, Technical Record 440, Cyclone Testing Station, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia.

Gad

E.F.

Chandler

A.M.

Duffield

C.F.

and Hutchinson

G.L.

(1999a). “Earthquake ductility and overstrength in domestic structures”, Structural Engineering and Mechanics, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 361–382.

Gad

E.F.

Chandler

A.M.

Duffield

C.F.

and Stark

(1999b). “Lateral behavior of plasterboard-clad residential steel frames”, Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE Vol. 125, No. 1, pp. 32–39.

Gad

E.F.

Duffield

C.F.

Hutchinson

G.L.

Mansell

D.S.

and Stark

(1999c). “Lateral performance of cold-formed steel-framed domestic structures”, Journal of Engineering Structures, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 83–95.

Gupta

A.K.

and Kuo

G.P.

(1985). “Behaviour of wood-framed shear walls”, Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 111, No. 8, pp. 1722–1733.

ISO (1980). ISO 6308: Gypsum Plasterboard – Specification, Geneva, Switzerland.

10.

Liew

Y.L.

Gad

E.F.

and Duffield

C.F.

(2002). “The influence of plasterboard clad walls on the structural behaviour of low rise residential buildings”, The Electronic Journal of Structural Engineering, Vol. 2, pp. 1–16.

11.

Liew

Y.L.

Gad

E.F.

and Duffield

C.F.

(2004). “Development of a test method for determining plasterboard bracing performance”, Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 130, No. 7, pp. 1108–1116.

12.

Liew

Y.L.

(2004). Plasterboard as a Bracing Material: From Quality Control to Wall Performance, PhD thesis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

13.

Liew

Y.L.

Gad

E.F.

and Duffield

C.F.

(2005). “Modularised closed–form mathematical model for predicting the bracing performance of plasterboard clad walls”, Structural Engineering and Mechanics, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 45–67.

14.

Reardon

G.F.

(1990). Simulated Cyclone Wind Loading on a Nusteel House, Technical Report No. 36, Cyclone Testing Station, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia.

15.

Salenikovich

A.J.

(2000). The Racking Performance of Light-Frame Shear Walls, PhD Thesis, Department of Wood Science and Forest Products, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA.

16.

Swanson Analysis Systems Inc. SASI. (1996). ANSYS – Engineering Analysis System, Pennsylvania, USA.

17.

Standards Australia (1999). AS1684:1999 Residential Timber-framed Construction, Sydney, Australia.

18.

Standards Australia (1998). AS/NZS2588:1998 Gypsum Plasterboard, Sydney, Australia.

19.

Tuomi

R.L.

and McCutcheon

W.J.

(1978). “Racking strength of light-frame nailed walls”, Journal of the Structural Division, ASCE, Vol. 104, No. 7, pp. 1131–1140.