Macro-modelling approach for the in-plane cyclic response of cold-formed steel partition walls

Past earthquakes demonstrate that non-structural elements could be vulnerable to a relatively low intensity ground shaking which induces negligible structural damage. The study aims to improve previously developed macro-models of cold-formed steel (CFS) partition walls to properly capture their in-plane cyclic response and damage states of important components in a CFS partition wall under imposed excitation. An effective analytical modelling approach is adopted for a simple modelling procedure and less computational effort. The proposed analysis model of partition walls consisting of several lumped spring elements is verified using direct comparison with two full scale CFS partition wall tests. The analytical and experimental results are compared in terms of force–displacement relations, dissipated energy, and an influential damage mechanism of components consisting of partition walls. The comparison shows that the analytical model well captures the experimental response such as the overall strength and stiffness degradation and pinching behavior. Moreover, the damage mechanism predicted by the analytical model is in good agreement with that observed during the tests.