Behaviour of Cold-Formed Steel Batten Screw Connections Under Wind Loading at Sub-Zero Temperatures

Cold-formed steel (CFS) construction is expanding in the building sector worldwide. In CFS buildings, thin, high strength steel roof and wall cladding and battens are commonly used. Blizzards are predominantly observed in North American countries, resulting in severe roof damage. Past research studies have investigated CFS batten’s critical local pull-through failure to rafter/truss screw connections under wind suction loading at ambient temperature. However, the pull-through capacity of CFS battens at sub-zero temperatures has not been investigated, which means that the performance of steel cladding systems in blizzards under the combined action of high winds and sub-zero temperatures remains unknown. This study investigated the pull-through failures of batten screw connections using an experimental study comprising 96 tests involving steel battens made of two grades, three thicknesses, and two screw fasteners at sub-zero temperatures. Experiments were conducted at four sub-zero temperatures, including ambient temperature. Using the results, appropriate design rules and increment factors were developed to predict the batten pull-through failure capacities of batten to rafter/truss screw connections under the combined effects of wind uplift load and freezing temperatures.