Behaviour and design of cold-formed steel wall frames lined with plasterboard on both sides

Gypsum plasterboard is a common lining material used in cold-formed steel wall frame systems. It is used either with lipped or unlipped (plain) C-section studs in the construction of both the load bearing and non-load bearing walls in residential, industrial and commercial buildings. The design of these wall frames does not utilise the full strengthening effects of the plasterboard in carrying the axial loads. An experimental study has shown that the strength of the studs in compression was increased significantly when they were lined with plasterboard on one or both sides. In order to fully understand the behaviour of both sides lined steel wall frames, a finite element model was developed and validated using experimental results. This was followed by a detailed parametric study using finite element analyses. This paper presents the details of the finite element modelling of both sides lined wall frames and the results. A design method based on appropriate effective length factors was developed within the provisions of Australian/New Zealand Standard for cold-formed steel structures to predict the ultimate loads and failure modes of both sides lined steel wall frames.