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Seismic Design of Mid-Rise Buildings with Heavy Rigid Floors and Light-Frame Walls

bones206

Structural
Jun 22, 2007
1,952
I read this document the other day: NEHRP Seismic Design Technical Brief No. 12 - Seismic Design of Cold-Formed Steel Lateral Load-Resisting Systems - A Guide for Practicing Engineers.

The following paragraph from that document seemed to suggest that concrete slabs/planks supported on light gauge framing may be fundamentally not complying with the IBC:
Concrete-filled deck and concrete plank floor systems are also used in CFS construction and may be supported directly by CFS load-bearing walls without repetitive joist or truss framing. The weight of these systems increases seismic demands considerably. In addition, this type of system does not comply with the definition of light-frame construction provided in Chapter 2 of the2015 International Building Code (ICC 2015). Therefore, careful consideration should be given to the selection of the SFRS for this type of structure. See IBC SEAOC Structural/Seismic Design Manual (SEAOC 2012),Volume 2, Example 3 for additional discussion.

For reference, this is the definition of light-frame construction in IBC 2015:
LIGHT-FRAME CONSTRUCTION: A type of construction whose vertical and horizontal structural elements are primarily formed by a system of repetitive wood or cold-formed steel framing members.

Considering how prevalent light-frame bearing/shear wall with heavy concrete plank or slab-on-metal deck buildings are in North America (i.e., hotels), I was surprised to see this typology may not have a solid code-basis.

I don't really have a specific question - just wanted to bring it up for discussion. It seems like the rigid wall/flexible diaphragm (RWFD) building type has been getting special attention in recent years related to seismic behavior (FEMA P-1026), which lead to new detailing requirements in ASCE 7-22. Maybe the inverse (heavy rigid diaphragm/light-framed wall) type deserves more attention as well. This is probably applicable to CLT floors on light-frame wood walls as well, which is becoming more popular.

Any thoughts here? Is this something where the codes need to catch up on building trends and do some testing/research to ensure proper seismic performance? Or is it just a matter of slightly editing the code definition of light-frame construction to include concrete diaphragms so we can continue merrily on our way?
 

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