Performance characteristics of light gage steel stud partition walls

This paper presents results from quasi-static racking tests on gypsum wallboard sheathed light gage metal stud partition walls used in buildings. Eight nearly identical pairs of specimens were constructed following common United States practice. Each specimen consisted of a 4.88 m long and 2.44 m tall web wall and two return walls each 1.2 m long and 2.44 m tall. The main variables were (i) the configuration of the specimen, (ii) the spacing of wallboard-light gage stud self-tapping screws, (iii) the stud thickness and spacing, (iv) the presence of a vertically slotted track at the top of the partition wall, and (v) the wallboard thickness.