Shear Wall Panel Design

In structural engineering a shear wall is a vertical element of a seismic force resisting system that is designed to resist in plane lateral forces typically wind and seismic loads.

Shear wall panel design.

In many jurisdictions the international building code and international residential code govern the design of shear walls. Lateral loads may be transferred to the foundation via braced frames or rigid frames diagonal rods or x bracing including let in bracing in the ease of wood frame construction. Shear wall analysis made easy. A shear wall resists loads parallel to the plane of the wall.

Shear walls diaphragms when designing a building for lateral loads such as those generated by wind or earthquakes a design engineer may have several alternatives. In the plywood the steel backed shear panel and sheet steel are used in the place of structural used plywood in the shear wall which is stronger to resist seismic pressure. Area it wasn t a big surprise to find out that only about one third of the group had experience with light frame shear wall design. One of the key milestones that launched us down this path was the development of our first factory built wood shearwall the strong wall.

Two weeks ago i had the chance to present to the young members group of the structural engineering association of metro washington on the topic of multi story light frame shear wall design with all of the large firms in the d c. This webinar includes an overview of apa s free design tool the ftao calculator and explains how it can help engineers and code officials in the design implementation of ftao shear walls with a focus on asymmetric piers and multiple openings. The simpson strong tie commitment to product design and testing over the years has resulted in us taking a whole systems approach to building design.