Investigation of screw assembly on cold-formed steel members: experimental and numerical studies

The strength of the Cold Formed Steel Members (CFS-M) assembly with screws connection has governed the global behavior of CFS Shear Wall Panel (CFS-SWP). Hence, the development of a Finite Element Modeling (FEM) with a reliable simulation taking into account the strength performances of these member assemblies strongly relies on experimental data. In this paper, the strength performances of Cold Formed Steel Member (CFS-M) assemblies in terms of failure modes, strength capacity and nonlinear force–displacement response is investigated through a rigorous experimental program. The results show that varying the thickness and the steel grade results in several failure modes, including CFS-M bearing, tilting and shear screw. Furthermore, increasing the number of screws assembly from one to two screws did not double the strength capacity of the assembly. In addition, a Finite Element Model (FEM) of the CFS-M assembly is developed to simulate and reproduce the assembly’s strength.