<p> Although the structural system was slightly damaged, damage to the nonstructural components could lead to the complete or partial closure of buildings. Lessons learned from recent earthquakes indicate that protecting the nonstructural components is very important for structural engineers to realize functional continuity of buildings after earthquakes. Especially from the damage of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, a number of research has been conducted to investigate the structural behavior and damage mechanisms of ceilings as non-structural components. And based on the research, seismic design procedures were established to avoid the fall of ceilings in order to save human life and to keep functional continuity. On the other hand, a reconnaissance of recent earthquakes reported that light-gauge steel (LGS) stud partition walls were also damaged, and its damage led to the complete or partial closure of buildings. Following the previous research project for ceilings, a number of research on LGS partition wall has to be conducted to reduce the seismic damage to the walls.</p><p> In this research, a systematic experimental program for investigating the structural behavior and damage mechanism of LGS partition walls will be conducted to establish the seismic design procedure. As the first step, element tests of stud-to-track connections were conducted to evaluate the ultimate strength. The main test parameters are the length of track, the clearance between track and stud, the pitch of bolts which connect the track to the reaction jig, and the number and spacing of studs. Here, a clearance of 10mm is employed at the top side of stud for workability on construction site. Power actuated fasteners are widely used for tracks to concrete slab connections, and a distance around 900mm is recommended for a pitch of the fasteners in standard specification of construction work.</p><p> The test results can be summarized as follows:(1) the structural behavior of stud-to-track connection is dominated by the out-of-plane bending of one-side flange plate of track. Therefore, effects of cyclic loadings on ultimate strength are few; (2) the strength is affected by the length of track and inversely proportional to the clearance between track and stud: (3) the total strength of multiple studs is not in proportional to the number of studs because the multiple studs share the effective width for strength evaluation; (4) a strength evaluation model has been established from the test results.</p>
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