Seismic Behaviour of Sheathed CFS Buildings: Shake-Table Testing and Numerical Modelling

In the past, the effort of the research was focused on the characterization and modelling of isolated CFS members or parts of building, but this cannot be enough for innovative structure, in which the sheathing panels interact with the steel framing providing the bracing effects against seismic actions. Therefore, in order to evaluate the seismic behaviour of CFS buildings sheathed with gypsum panels, a wide experimental campaign was conducted at University of Naples “Federico II” in the framework of European research project ELISSA (Energy efficient LIghtweight-Sustainable-SAfe steel construction). In particular, a two-storey building was tested on the shaking-table, considering different construction phases. In the first phase, the building included only structural elements and dynamic identification tests were carried out, whereas, in the second phase, the building was completed with all finishing components and it was tested for dynamic identification and under natural ground motions. In addition, a numerical model able to simulate the dynamic/earthquake response of the whole building, considering also the effect of finishing materials, was developed in OpenSees environment. The present paper describes the main results of shake-table testing and numerical modelling.