NIST Technical Note 2116

Seismic Evaluation of a 2-Story

Cold-Formed Steel Framed Building
using ASCE 41-17
Matthew S. Speicher
Ivana Olivares
Benjamin W. Schafer

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 NIST Technical Note 2116

Seismic Evaluation of a 2-Story

Cold-Formed Steel Framed Building
using ASCE 41-17
Matthew S. Speicher
Earthquake Engineering Group
Materials and Structural Systems Division
Engineering Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Ivana Olivares
Benjamin W. Schafer
Department of Civil and Systems Engineering
Johns Hopkins University

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September 2020

U.S. Department of Commerce

Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Walter Copan, NIST Director and Undersecretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology
 Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this
document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately.
Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor is it intended to imply that the
entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily the best available for the purpose.

NIST policy is to use the International System of Units (metric units) in all its
publications. In this report, however, information is presented in U.S. Customary
Units (inch-pound), because those are the units used in the standards being evaluated.

National Institute of Standards and Technology Technical Note 2084

Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. Tech. Note 2116, 40 pages (September 2020)
CODEN: NTNOEF

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 Abstract
The objective of this report is to assess the adequacy of new provisions in ASCE 41 for
seismic assessment of cold-formed steel framed buildings. A two-story cold-formed steel
(CFS) framed building that has been designed to contemporary seismic standards (ASCE 7
and AISI S400) and tested on a shake table was selected as the archetype building for this
study. Shake table tests of the CFS-framed building indicated only minimal damage at
earthquake levels exceeding the ASCE 7 maximum considered earthquake. Further,
previously conducted incremental dynamic analyses of the CFS-framed building indicated
the ASCE 7 design led to acceptable collapse margin ratios, which equates to acceptable
performance. Assessment of the selected CFS-framed building is performed per the linear
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procedure in ASCE 41. A retrofit design, and a new design, for the same CFS-framed
building are also completed per ASCE 41. The ASCE 41 assessment indicates that the
building is inadequate, despite the known good performance in experimental shaking and
complementary nonlinear time history analyses. The ASCE 41 retrofit requires nearly a
doubling in the strength of the shear walls and the remaining elements of the seismic force
resisting system. It is shown that ASCE 41’s predicted demands for short period buildings,
and its lack of a simple means to account for large system overstrength, are the two primary
contributors to the overly-conservative predictions from the ASCE 41 provisions. These
findings are intended to be used to improve future versions of ASCE 41, with a focus on
CFS-framed building provisions.

Key words
earthquake engineering, performance-based design, seismic assessment, building codes, cold-
formed steel

i
 Table of Contents
1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1
2. Background and Motivation ........................................................................................... 1
3. Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 3
3.1. Existing Building Evaluation ...................................................................................... 3
3.2. Existing Building Retrofit ........................................................................................... 5
3.3. New Building Design .................................................................................................. 5
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3.4. General Approach for ASCE 41 Assessment .............................................................. 5

3.4.1. Demand ................................................................................................................. 5
3.4.2. Capacity ................................................................................................................. 7
3.4.3. Acceptance Criteria Check .................................................................................... 8
4. Results ............................................................................................................................. 10
4.1. Evaluation of Existing Building ................................................................................ 11
4.2. Retrofit of Existing Building ..................................................................................... 14
4.2.1. Shear Walls.......................................................................................................... 14
4.2.2. Chord Studs ......................................................................................................... 16
4.2.3. Ties and Hold-Downs .......................................................................................... 18
4.3. Design of New Building ............................................................................................ 21
5. Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 25
6. Summary and Conclusions ........................................................................................... 29
References .............................................................................................................................. 30
Appendix A Supplemental Information ................................................................... 32

ii
 List of Tables
Table 1. Summary of lateral seismic demands for ELF/linear procedures in ASCE 7 and
ASCE 41 for the CFS-NEES building site and design system, where V is the seismic base
shear. ................................................................................................................................. 10
Table 2. Details of shear walls in CFS-NEES building updated per
ASCE 7-16/AISI S400-15 design. .................................................................................... 11
Table 3. Linear static procedure assessment results of the shear walls considering life safety
(LS) at the BSE-1E earthquake hazard level, where v is shear per unit length. ............... 12
Table 4. Linear static procedure assessment results of the shear walls considering collapse
prevention (CP) at the BSE-2E earthquake hazard level, where v is shear per unit length
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........................................................................................................................................... 13
Table 5. CFS-NEES retrofit design details for shear walls for life safety (LS) at the BSE-1E
earthquake hazard level..................................................................................................... 15
Table 6. CFS-NEES retrofit for shear walls for collapse prevention (CP) at the BSE-2E
earthquake hazard level..................................................................................................... 16
Table 7. Linear static procedure assessment results of the chord studs considering expected
capacities from shear walls retrofitted to meet life safety (LS) at the BSE-1E earthquake
hazard level. ...................................................................................................................... 17
Table 8. Linear static procedure assessment results of the chord studs considering expected
capacities from shear walls retrofitted to meet collapse prevention (CP) at the BSE-2E
earthquake hazard level..................................................................................................... 18
Table 9. Linear static procedure assessment results of the ties and hold-downs considering
expected capacities from shear walls retrofitted to meet life safety (LS) at the BSE-1E
earthquake hazard level..................................................................................................... 19
Table 10. Linear static procedure assessment results of the ties and hold-downs considering
expected capacities from shear walls retrofitted to meet collapse prevention (CP) at the
BSE-1E earthquake hazard level. ..................................................................................... 20
Table 11. Summary of new design iterations for shear walls and chord studs at the life safety
(LS) performance level with the BSE-1N earthquake hazard level .................................. 22
Table 12. Performance summary of new design for shear walls, ties, and chord studs at the
life safety (LS) performance level with the BSE-1N earthquake hazard level. ................ 23
Table 13. Performance summary of new design for shear walls, ties, and chord studs at the
collapse prevention (CP) performance level with the BSE-2N earthquake hazard level. 24
Table 14. Summary of key design changes between ASCE7-16 and ASCE41-17 for CFS-
NEES building (new design). ........................................................................................... 26
Table 15. Hazard levels and response spectra values for ASCE 41-17 and ASCE 7-16
including specific values at the CFS-NEES building location. ........................................ 27
Table 16. Comparison of seismic response modification factors and m-factors for common
CFS seismic force resisting systems. ................................................................................ 28

iii
 List of Figures
Fig. 1. Illustration of basic CFS framing types [15]. ............................................................... 2
Fig. 2. Isometric of framing for 2-story CFS-NEES building (sheathing depicted only on
shear walls) [16].................................................................................................................. 3
Fig. 3. Typical shear wall elevation, floor-to-floor tie, and anchorage hold-down in CFS-
NEES building [16]............................................................................................................. 4
Fig. 4. Free body diagrams for (a) shear wall contribution to chord studs and (b) dead, live,
and earthquake loading to first and second story chord studs. ........................................... 7
Fig. 5. Generalized acceleration response spectrum. ............................................................. 27
Fig. 6. CFS member naming convention per SSMA [21]...................................................... 32
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iv
 Glossary
AISC – American Institute of Steel Construction
AISI – American Iron and Steel Institute
ASCE – American Society of Civil Engineers
BSE – basic safety earthquake
CFS – cold-formed steel
CP – collapse prevention
DE – design earthquake
ELF – equivalent lateral force
LS – life safety
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MCE – maximum considered earthquake

NEES - Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation
NIST – National Institute of Standards and Technology
NSF – National Science Foundation
OSB – oriented strand board
PBSD – performance-based seismic design

v
 1. Introduction
Performance-based seismic design has gained traction in the U.S. building industry as an
alternative way to design new buildings and retrofit existing buildings to resist seismic
effects. The current standardized performance-based design methodology is contained
within the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) / Structural Engineering Institute
(SEI) standard 41 – Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit for Existing Buildings – hereafter
referred to as ASCE 41. Additions to ASCE 41 in the 2017 edition [1] include complete
modeling and acceptance criteria for components of cold-formed steel (CFS) framed building
construction. These changes were made using available test data in the literature and by
following accepted practice for deriving new parameters. However, there has been limited
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validation of these CFS-based criteria to ensure reasonable design and assessment outcomes.
Therefore, this report examines the relationship between prescriptive new building design
approaches and the performance-based existing building standard (ASCE 41). This
evaluation is completed by assessing a 2-story CFS building that was tested on a shake table
during a previously funded National Science Foundation project. The building is evaluated
using linear assessment procedures in ASCE 41. Per the assessment, retrofit schemes are
proposed. Additionally, the building is redesigned, as new per ASCE 41, to understand how
the building would need to change from the existing code-conforming design.
2. Background and Motivation
In 2015, NIST published a series of reports investigating the relationship between new
structural steel building design standards and existing structural steel building assessment
standards [2–4]. The NIST studies began by designing a suite of steel frames using the
following:
• ASCE 7, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (2010) [5].
• American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) 360, Specification for Structural
Steel Buildings (2010) [6].
• AISC 341, Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings [7].
Next, these buildings were assessed using the systematic evaluation (Tier 3) approach in
ASCE 41. The evaluation included the following four levels of analysis procedures: linear
static, linear dynamic, nonlinear static, and nonlinear dynamic. The basic question raised in
the NIST study was, “do the standards for designing new buildings and assessing existing
buildings provide consistent levels of performance?” The results from the study, in a broad
stroke, show that the “newly-designed buildings,” which were code compliant to ASCE
7/AISC360/AISC 341, did not pass an ASCE 41 assessment. The reports, along with follow-
on studies [8–12] identified several issues that contributed to the observed outcome. This
body of work has given the ASCE standards committees new information that can help
inform changes to the provisions, and work is actively underway for this update cycle (next
edition of ASCE 41 is due in 2023).
A possible consequence with the finding from the NIST studies is that, with overly
conservative ASCE 41 assessment procedures, existing buildings may be unnecessarily
retrofitted or existing buildings that would benefit from retrofitting may not receive
investment due to the high cost. Further, design engineers considering using ASCE 41 as a
1
 performance-based seismic design (PBSD) alternative for the design of new buildings are
likely to find the ASCE 41 design route to be overly conservative and, therefore, less
desirable. These two scenarios are essentially the opposite of the implicit goal of PBSD,
which is to create less restrictive and more efficient designs supported by improved
predictions of performance that are closely aligned with finer-tuned desired levels of
performance.
In this context, the addition of CFS system assessment criteria into the latest version of
ASCE 41 motivates the same type of question: how does the new building design standard
compare to the existing building assessment standard? The acceptance criteria were
developed based on an extensive database of experimental test results [13]. The database
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was used to create backbone curves, per the generally acceptable approach outlined in ASCE
41-17 Chapter 7, for each type of system and to then calculate corresponding m-factors
(linear acceptance values) and inelastic deformations (nonlinear acceptance values).
However, there has been little investigation into how these acceptance criteria correspond to
new building design. In other words, will a building designed with a CFS lateral system, per
the latest version of the CFS seismic lateral design standard, American Iron and Steel
Institute (AISI) S400 [14], pass an ASCE 41 assessment using the new acceptance criteria?
Load bearing CFS-framed buildings generally consist of repetitively framed lipped channel
studs and joists. CFS-framed buildings are most commonly ledger-framed (i.e., not platform
or balloon framed – see Fig. 1), whereby the joists are hung from the inboard side of the
studs using a continuous ledger allowing the joist spacing to be different (commonly less
than) the stud spacing (typically 24 in. on center). Lateral stiffness and strength are
established through sheathing or strap-bracing segments of the wall and floor. Details of the
commonly used seismic force resisting systems in CFS framing and their design and
performance are summarized in a 2016 NIST report [15].

Fig. 1. Illustration of basic CFS framing types [15].

As detailed above, past studies on other hot-rolled steel and reinforced concrete systems have
indicated ASCE 41 can be more conservative tan ASCE 7. Performing this comparison

2
 between design methodologies will help inform and motivate future efforts to improve both
current prescriptive CFS design and performance-based CFS design and assessment. To
achieve this, the 2-story CFS building designed and tested during a National Science
Foundation (NSF) sponsored George E. Brown Network for Earthquake Engineering
Simulation (NEES) research project know as CFS-NEES (see Fig. 2) is selected as a case
study (NSF award 1041578, NEESR-CR: Enabling Performance-Based Seismic Design of
Multi-Story Cold-Formed Steel Structures, Principal Investigator: Benjamin Schafer) [16].
This building was designed to contemporary practice using ASCE 7/AISI S400 and subjected
to shake table testing at the University at Buffalo in 2013. The overall building response
involved only minor damage even for seismic excitations in excess of ASCE 7’s maximum
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considered earthquake levels [17]. Subsequent nonlinear time history analyses further
demonstrated that while the building was efficiently designed with respect to ASCE7/AISI
S400 (i.e., design demand/capacity ratios for the shear walls generally near 1.0), the building
had substantial strength reserve and more than acceptable collapse probabilities [18, 19].

Fig. 2. Isometric of framing for 2-story CFS-NEES building

(sheathing depicted only on shear walls) [16].

3. Methodology
3.1. Existing Building Evaluation
The first task in this study was to evaluate the 2-story CFS-NEES building. The original
building design was completed per ASCE 7-05, AISI S100-07, and AISI S213-07 as detailed
in [16]. The design was updated to satisfy the latest standards, ASCE 7-16 [20], AISI S100-
16, and AISI S400-15. Then, the updated design was evaluated as an existing building using
the linear static procedure of ASCE 41-17. Consistent with current practice, the primary
lateral force-resisting system was considered, but secondary effects from the gravity framing
system and non-structural elements were ignored. Although ignoring these secondary effects
is typical in CFS design practice, and is the only approach consistent with current design
3
 codes, the actual response of the tested building included significant contributions from these
secondary systems [17, 18].
Per ASCE 41, the existing building was evaluated for life safety (LS) at the basic safety
earthquake (BSE)-1E level and collapse prevention (CP) at the BSE-2E level, where the
letter “E” signifies “existing.”
For these existing building evaluations, only the oriented strand board (OSB) sheathed shear
wall capacities were assessed. The chord studs and floor-to-floor ties, as well as hold-down
anchorages, are capacity-protected in AISI S400 and thus are sized once the shear wall
expected capacities are determined. Figure 3 provides a typical shear wall detail as well as
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the floor-to-floor ties and hold-down anchorage in the CFS-NEES building.

Fig. 3. Typical shear wall elevation, floor-to-floor tie, and anchorage hold-down in CFS-
NEES building [16].

4
 3.2. Existing Building Retrofit
After the existing building evaluation was completed, the next task was to design a retrofit
that would satisfy the ASCE 41 linear requirements. Practical options for retrofitting the
CFS-framed OSB sheathed shear walls include increasing the number of fasteners in the
sheathing, or for single-sided shear walls applying an additional side of sheathing. Replacing
the sheathing material is also possible, but generally less practical. Of course, if a shear wall
is retrofitted, the corresponding chord studs and ties/hold-downs need to be redesigned to
accommodate the new expected capacity. Practical options for accomplishing these upgrades
are discussed, but the complete designs are not carried out.
3.3. New Building Design
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The final task in this project was to create a new design as if the building has not yet been
built. This allows freedom not available during the previous task and is expected to produce
a more efficient design. For example, stud sizes can now be easily changed, which is a key
advantage in the new design versus the retrofit. Even though the new design did allow more
freedom, the new design maintained the same layout and number of shear walls as the orginal
design, thus only changing stud size, sheathing, fastener speacing, and number of faces
sheathed in a wall.
3.4. General Approach for ASCE 41 Assessment
ASCE 41 has several different assessment options, from a tier 1 evaluation which includes a
“checklist” cursory style screening, to a tier 3 evaluation which consists of varying degrees
of engineering analysis, with the most complex being the nonlinear dynamic procedure. For
this study, the linear static procedure is used, which is the “simplest” form of a tier 3
analysis. The linear static procedure aligns well with the equivalent static force procedure
used in traditional design and involves applying an unreduced lateral load, distributed at each
story, and then comparing the force demand to the product of the expected capacity and a
component capacity modification (m)-factor that accounts for the ductility at the selected
structural performance level.
In contrast, new building design (per ASCE 7) uses lateral forces reduced by a response
modification factor, R, and then compares these demands to nominal capacities multiplied by
a resistance (reduction) factor, φ. The response modification factor, R, is comprised of two
parts: overstrength (Ωo) and ductility (~R/Ωo). ASCE 41’s m-factor is conceptually similar to
the ductility portion of R. The following subsections outline the approach used to obtain the
demands, capacities, and acceptance criteria used in this study.
3.4.1. Demand
The first step taken for the ASCE 41 linear assessment is to calculate the demands on the
shear walls. The shear walls are considered deformation-controlled components. The base
shear of the building that the shear walls must carry is calculated from ASCE 41-17 Equation
7-21:
V = C1C2 S aW (1)

where C1 is a modification factor relating expected maximum inelastic displacements to

displacements obtained from linear elastic response; C2 is the modification factor
representing the effects of pinched hysteresis shape, cyclic stiffness degradation, and strength
5
 deterioration on maximum response; Sa is the response spectrum acceleration at the
fundamental period of the building; and W is the effective seismic weight of the building.
For the assessment in this study, the approximate value for the product of C1C2 is employed
from ASCE 41-17 Table 7-3 and is equal to 1.4.
The base shear is distributed to each floor as a static force using ASCE 41-17 Equation 7-24.
This force distribution is identical to that used in the design using ASCE 7-16 Equation 12.8-
11. The story shears are then distributed to the two sides of the building (1/2 to each side)
and then to each shear wall along a side of the building based on their calculated relative
stiffness. These individual shear wall demands are used as the deformation-controlled
component demands per unit length, vud, for the assessment. Note, the lateral forces are not
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reduced by R, as is the case in the conventional ASCE 7 design.

The demands on the chord studs and ties/hold-downs are determined by treating them as
force-controlled components. ASCE 41 gives two options for determining the demands on
force-controlled components. The first approach is to use the combination of seismic forces
(as used to determine required shear wall capacity) and the gravity loads. The unreduced
seismic forces are reduced by dividing by the product of C1, C2, and J, where C1 and C2 are
described above, and J is the force-delivery reduction factor taken as the smallest demand-
capacity ratio of the components in the load path delivering force to the component in
question. This load combination is then compared with the lower-bound strength of the
respective force-controlled component.
The second approach is a “capacity design” approach in which the expected capacity of the
shear wall is used to determine the maximum forces that can be delivered to the force-
controlled components. The concept being that the desired energy dissipation occurs in the
deformation-controlled shear wall and the boundary members, and that connections for the
shear wall must be designed to ensure nearly elastic response up to the expected strength of
the deforming shear wall to enable the shear wall to perform in a ductile manner over
repeated cycles. The required axial load, Pr, and the required moment, Mr, are generated
assuming the shear wall is carrying its expected capacity in combination with the appropriate
gravity load. The chord studs are often subjected to eccentric loads, primarily due to gravity
loads framing into the interior flange of the stud from the ledger, and a smaller amount in
each story from sheathing demands originating at the attached flange face, which in total
creates a moment on the stud. A free body diagram illustrating the force calculation for the
chord studs is shown in Fig. 4.

6
 Vrh/w = E D, L

Vr E
chord stud

D, L

shear wall panel h E

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Vr = required shear
vr = required shear per unit length
h = shear wall height
w = shear wall width
w E = seismic load
vr
Vrh/w Vrh/w Vrh/w = E D = dead load
L = live load

(a) simplified conversion of seismic shear wall (b) demands on chord studs considering dead (D)
demand to chord stud demand and live (L) load from joists and seismic (E) load
from sheathing
Fig. 4. Free body diagrams for (a) shear wall contribution to chord studs and (b) dead, live,
and earthquake loading to first and second story chord studs.

For linear procedures, the combination of actions resulting from dead and live load with the
seismic load (𝑄𝑄𝐸𝐸 ) follows per ASCE 41-17 Equation (7-1), adapted here as follows:
𝑄𝑄 = 𝑄𝑄𝐸𝐸 + 1.1(𝑄𝑄𝐷𝐷 + 𝑄𝑄𝐿𝐿 ) (2)
where 𝑄𝑄𝐷𝐷 is the action resulting from the dead load and 𝑄𝑄𝐿𝐿 is the action resulting from the
live load. Further, 𝑄𝑄𝐿𝐿 is defined as 25 % of the unreduced live load from ASCE 7. The
maximum axial forces in the ties and hold-downs are determined in a similar manner –
considering the expected capacity of the shear wall, and considering the case of counteracting
loads where ASCE 41-17 Equation 7-2 holds, adapted here as:
𝑄𝑄 = 𝑄𝑄𝐸𝐸 + 0.9(𝑄𝑄𝐷𝐷 ) (3)
3.4.2. Capacity
The shear wall expected capacity per unit length, vce, is as follows:
vce = φvn (4)

where ϕ is set to 1.0 and vn is the nominal shear wall capacity per unit length. The nominal
shear wall capacity is determined from AISI S400-15. Specifically, AISI S400-15 Table
E1.3-1 provides strength in lbf per linear ft (plf) based on sheathing type, fastener spacing
and size, and stud and track thickness. Adjustment is required for narrow aspect ratio shear
7
 walls: if shear wall height, h, divided by width, w, is greater than 2.0, the strength is reduced
by the multiplicative factor 2(w / h).
Additionally, the m-factors in ASCE 41 can be considered part of the capacity of the shear
wall. The m-factors are found in ASCE 41-17 Table 9-9 for CFS components. CFS shear
walls sheathed with oriented strand board (OSB), considered as primary components, have
m-factors of 2.5 for life safety (LS) and 3.3 for collapse prevention (CP).
The chord studs are considered force-controlled components, therefore lower-bound
strengths are used in the assessment. The lower-bound axial (PCL) and flexural strength
(MCL) for the chord studs as specified in ASCE 41-17 Section 9.3.2.3.2 are calculated based
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on the nominal strength from AISI S100 (e.g. Pn), but with ϕ set to 1.0 and the yield stress,
Fy, determined from lower-bound material properties. Per ASCE 41-17 Section 9.2.2.5.2, the
lower-bound yield stress FyL = 0.85Fye, where Fye is the expected yield stress. The expected
yield stress is defined as RyFyn, where Ry = 1.1 from AISI S400-15 Table A3.2-1, and Fyn is
the nominal yield stress; thus FyL = (0.85)(1.1)Fyn = 0.94Fyn. It is conservative (by 6 % or
less) to use PCL=0.94Pn (or MCL=0.94Mn) for the lower-bound strength where Pn is calculated
based on Fyn, and this simplification is taken herein.
3.4.3. Acceptance Criteria Check
The acceptance criteria check for the shear walls follows the requirements for deformation-
controlled components in ASCE 41. With the demand and capacity determined, the linear
procedure acceptance criteria for the shear walls is:
mκvce > vud (5)

where m is the m-factor and κ is the knowledge factor (taken as 1.0 in this report). Equation
(5) is equivalent to ASCE 41-17 Equation 7-36. For convenience, Equation (5) can be
rearranged and written as:
vud
<m (6)
κvce

The results are presented in the form of Equation (6), where the demand-to-capacity ratio
must be less than m to pass the acceptance criteria.
The acceptance criteria check for the chord studs and ties/hold downs follow the
requirements for force-controlled components in ASCE 41. The acceptance criteria for the
chord studs can be written as the following interaction equation:

1  PUF M UF 
 +  ≤ 1.0 (7)
κ  PCL M CL 

where PCL is the lower-bound capacity of the chord stud in compression, MCL is the lower-
bound capacity of the chord stud in flexure, PUF is the maximum axial load that can be
developed in the chord stud due to the shear wall reaching its expected capacity (in
combination with dead and live load), and MUF is the flexural load resulting from eccentricity
8
 in the loads being delivered to the chord stud. Note, MUF should include second order effects
and may be approximated as B1MUF1 where B1 is the approximate moment magnifier
(Equation C1.2.1.1-3 in AISI S100-16 [14]) and MUF1 is the first-order demand. An
equivalent equation, based on the maximum force delivered from the shear walls, can be used
for the ties/hold-downs. The acceptance criteria check for ties/hold-downs is:

1  TUF 
  ≤ 1.0 (8)
κ  TCL 

where TCL is the lower-bound tension or compression capacity and TUF is the demand arising
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from the shear wall reaching its expected capacity. As force-controlled elements, the lower-
bound capacity for the ties and hold-downs is taken as 0.94 times the nominal strength, as
detailed previously.

9
 4. Results
The results of the ASCE 41 assessments are presented in this section. The first set of results
are for the evaluation of the building as an existing building. The next set of results show the
retrofit options of the existing building and the associated assessment. Finally, the last set of
results show a new lateral design created considering the building as a new design with the
same general layout.
The fundamental demand that drives the seismic design of a building is the induced lateral
forces. For the CFS-NEES building the lateral demands for the equivalent lateral force
(ELF) procedure in ASCE 7-16 are compared with those for ASCE 41-17 in Table 1.
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Although ASCE 7 and ASCE 41 utilize different design philosophies, the comparison
illustrates that even when accounting for ductility (𝑚𝑚 in ASCE 41, 𝑅𝑅/Ω𝑜𝑜 in ASCE 7) and
considering all performance and hazard levels, ASCE 41 demands are greater than ASCE 7
demands for this location and building system.
Table 1. Summary of lateral seismic demands for ELF/linear procedures in ASCE 7 and
ASCE 41 for the CFS-NEES building site and design system, where V is the seismic base
shear.
ASCE 7-16 ASCE 41-17
LS / BSE-1E CP / BSE-2E LS / BSE-1N LS / BSE-2N
𝑅𝑅 = 6.5 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 = 1.4 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 = 1.4 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 = 1.4 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 = 1.4
Ω𝑜𝑜 = 3 𝑚𝑚 = 2.5 𝑚𝑚 = 3.3 𝑚𝑚 = 2.5 𝑚𝑚 = 3.3
𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉Ω𝑜𝑜 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉
𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉
𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 𝑚𝑚 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 𝑚𝑚 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 𝑚𝑚 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 𝑚𝑚
(kips)
Roof level 42 6 19 59 42 24 90 64 27 73 52 29 109 78 33
Floor level 29 4 13 41 29 16 62 44 19 51 36 20 76 54 23
Base Shear 71 11 33 100 71 40 152 108 46 123 88 49 185 132 56
Note, selected response modification coefficients are for CFS-framed building with OSB sheathed shear walls

10
 4.1. Evaluation of Existing Building
As mentioned previously, the original building design was completed per ASCE 7-05,
AISI S100-07, and AISI S213-07 as detailed in [16]. The design was updated to satisfy the
latest standards: ASCE 7-16, AISI S100-16, and AISI S400-15. With respect to ASCE7-16
vs. ASCE7-05, the seismic response modification coefficients are unchanged (R=6.5, Ωo=3,
Cd=4) while the design base shear for the site decreased by 1.4 % and all other loads, load
combinations, seismic response modification coefficients, etc. remained the same. With
respect to capacity, the shear wall available strength is unchanged in AISI S400-15 from
AISI S213-07. Chord studs and other capacity-based (force-controlled) elements received an
updated treatment in AISI S400-15 from AISI S213-07, but the end result was no net change
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and chord studs may be understood as designed for the expected strength of the shear wall
(but not greater than seismic loads at Ωo levels). Minor member capacity changes from
AISI S100-07 to AISI S100-16 have no net change on the chord stud, joist, and track
selections in the CFS-NEES building. The average utilization ratio (required
strength/available strength) in the new design is 92 % and 64 % for the first story and second
story shear walls, respectively (see Table 2). Thus, from the standpoint of current design, the
CFS-NEES building represents an efficient and realistic contemporary design.
Table 2. Details of shear walls in CFS-NEES building updated per
ASCE 7-16/AISI S400-15 design.
Shear walls sheathed with 7/16 in. OSB (exterior face only), w long, attached at spacing s
2nd Story 1st Story
w s w s
Shear wall vr / φvn Shear wall vr / φvn
(ft) (in.) (ft) (in.)
South face (joists perpendicular to shear walls)
L2S1 4 6 0.64 L1S1 4 6 0.92
L2S2 5 6 0.63 L1S2 5 6 0.91
L2S3 4 6 0.64 L1S3 4 6 0.92
North face (joists perpendicular to shear walls)
L2N1 12 6 0.41 L1N1 12 6 0.59
L2N2 8 6 0.35 L1N2 8 6 0.50
West face (joists parallel to shear walls)
L2W1 4 6 0.51 L1W1 4 6 0.73
L2W2 4 6 0.51 L1W2 4 6 0.73
L2W3 7 6 0.58 L1W3 7 6 0.83
East face (joists parallel to shear walls)
L2E1 6 6 0.51 L1E1 6 6 0.74
L2E2 8 6 0.58 L1E2 8 6 0.83
Notes: 1. in calculation of vn the w = 4 ft shear walls are deemed narrow and adjusted for aspect ratio
2. chord studs: back-to-back 600S162-54, field studs 600S162-33 2nd story, 600S162-54 1st story.
3. member naming convention per the Steel Stud Manufacturers Association (SSMA) identification code
[21] as described in Appendix A.

11
 Per ASCE 41-17 the CFS-NEES building’s linear static procedure assessment results for the
life safety (LS) performance level at the BSE-1E earthquake hazard level is shown in Table
3. Shear walls with 𝑣𝑣𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 /𝑣𝑣𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 > 𝑚𝑚 fail the assessment and are designated with bold and
underline. For the 2nd story, 6 out of 10 shear walls fail the assessment. For the first story, 9
out of 10 shear walls fail the assessment.
The linear static procedure assessment results for the collapse prevention (CP) performance
level at the BSE-2E earthquake hazard level is shown in Table 4. Despite the more relaxed
m-factor at the collapse prevention (CP) level (m=2.5 for LS vs. 3.3 for CP) the results
indicate worse performance than at the life safety (LS) level (BSE-1E) assessment. For the
2nd story, 9 out of 10 shear walls fail the assessment. For the lower story, all the shear walls
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fail the assessment.

In effect, a building that was deemed adequate per ASCE 7-16/AISI S400-15 is deemed
inadequate per ASCE 41-17.
Table 3. Linear static procedure assessment results of the shear walls considering life safety
(LS) at the BSE-1E earthquake hazard level, where v is shear per unit length.

2nd Story 1st Story

m-factor
vud vce vud vce
Shear wall vud / vce Shear wall vud / vce
(plf) (plf) (plf) (plf)
L2S1 2039 622 3.28 L1S1 3465 733 4.73 2.5
L2S2 2623 700 3.75 L1S2 4434 825 5.37 2.5
L2S3 2039 622 3.28 L1S3 3465 733 4.73 2.5
L2N1 1684 700 2.41 L1N1 2860 825 3.47 2.5
L2N2 1152 700 1.65 L1N2 1946 825 2.36 2.5
L2W1 1408 622 2.26 L1W1 2401 733 3.27 2.5
L2W2 1408 622 2.26 L1W2 2401 733 3.27 2.5
L2W3 2595 700 3.71 L1W3 4383 825 5.31 2.5
L2E1 1755 700 2.51 L1E1 2979 825 3.61 2.5
L2E2 2362 700 3.37 L1E2 4002 825 4.85 2.5
Note: bold and underline indicates component that fails assessment.

12
 Table 4. Linear static procedure assessment results of the shear walls considering collapse
prevention (CP) at the BSE-2E earthquake hazard level, where v is shear per unit length

2nd Story 1st Story

m-factor
vud vce vud vce
Shear wall vud / vce Shear wall vud / vce
(plf) (plf) (plf) (plf)
L2S1 3103 622 4.99 L1S1 5273 733 7.19 3.3
L2S2 3991 700 5.70 L1S2 6747 825 8.18 3.3
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L2S3 3103 622 4.99 L1S3 5273 733 7.19 3.3

L2N1 2563 700 3.66 L1N1 4352 825 5.28 3.3
L2N2 1753 700 2.50 L1N2 2962 825 3.59 3.3
L2W1 2142 622 3.44 L1W1 3653 733 4.98 3.3
L2W2 2142 622 3.44 L1W2 3653 733 4.98 3.3
L2W3 3948 700 5.64 L1W3 6670 825 8.09 3.3
L2E1 2671 700 3.82 L1E1 4533 825 5.50 3.3
L2E2 3103 622 4.99 L1E2 6089 825 7.38 3.3
Note:

13
 4.2. Retrofit of Existing Building
Since the previous section shows the building designs do not pass the ASCE 41 criteria, this
section examines retrofit options.
4.2.1. Shear Walls
Each shear wall was individually retrofitted to pass the ASCE 41 assessment. The easiest
retrofit option was to increase the number of fasteners. The original fastener spacing was 6
in., therefore for practical purposes a 3 in. fastener spacing was first investigated. If a 3 in.
spacing did not give the necessary capacity, double sheathing (i.e. sheathing on both sides of
the wall) was the next option examined. If with double-sided sheathing the capacity was
sufficient to relax back from 3 in. fastener spacing to 6 in. fastener spacing, then this was
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done. Note, the 2nd story shear walls have 33 mil field studs and 54 mil chord studs, as was
done in the original design per Madsen et al. [16] the nominal strength is based on the 33 mil
field studs; however the expected strength for force-controlled elements is based on the 54
mil chord studs. In addition, AISI S400-15 does not provide a capacity for 7/16 in. OSB
attached to 33 mil studs at 3 in. spacing, therefore the value provided for 4 in. spacing is
employed.
After iterating through the different options, each shear wall was retrofitted based on each
performance level and hazard level combination. The resulting retrofitted shear walls are
presented in Table 5 for life safety (LS) at the BSE-1E level. Required changes for the 1st
story shear wall retrofit are significant – the South and East wall lines require double-sided
sheathing as does the longest shear wall on the West facing wall line, L1W3. All 1st story
shear walls need additional fasteners placed between all existing fasteners to decrease the
fastener spacing down to 3 in. The 2nd story shear walls require double-sided sheathing in
the same locations as the 1st story, but the existing 6 in. fastener spacing is adequate.
Results of retrofitted shear walls are presented in Table 6 for the collapse prevention (CP)
performance level with the BSE-2E demand. In this example, the retrofit is slightly less
onerous than the LS-level retrofit. For the 1st story, shear walls on the South face as well as
the longer shear walls on the West and East face, L1W3 and L1E2, require double-sided
sheathing. Again, all the 1st story shear walls require 3 in. fastener spacing except L1N2
which can be left with its original 6 in. spacing. For the 2nd story, the same shear walls as the
1st story require double-sided sheathing and, with the exception of the walls on the south
face, at least one wall on each face requires additional fasteners to be installed to decrease the
fastener spacing to 3 in.
The required retrofits for either the life safety (LS) or collapse prevention (CP) level would
be costly; however, they do not require an increase in shear wall length, thus practically they
could be accomplished.

14
 Table 5. CFS-NEES retrofit design details for shear walls for life safety (LS) at the BSE-1E
earthquake hazard level.

Original Retrofit
s s
SW Sheathing sides Sheathing sides vud / vce m-factor
(in.) (in.)
2nd Story
L2S1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 6 1.64 2.5
L2S2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 6 1.86 2.5
L2S3 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 6 1.64 2.5
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L2N1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 6 2.41 2.5

L2N2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 6 1.65 2.5
L2W1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 6 1.85 2.5
L2W2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 6 1.85 2.5
L2W3 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 6 2.06 2.5
L2E1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 6 1.26 2.5
L2E2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 6 1.69 2.5
1st Story
L1S1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 3 1.26 2.5
L1S2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 3 1.43 2.5
L1S3 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 3 1.26 2.5
L1N1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 3 1.85 2.5
L1N2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 3 1.26 2.5
L1W1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 3 1.73 2.5
L1W2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 3 1.73 2.5
L1W3 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 3 1.43 2.5
L1E1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 3 0.96 2.5
L1E2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 3 1.30 2.5
Note: bold indicates changes from original design.

15
 Table 6. CFS-NEES retrofit for shear walls for collapse prevention (CP) at the BSE-2E
earthquake hazard level.

Original Retrofit
s s
SW Sheathing sides Sheathing sides vud / vce m-factor
(in.) (in.)
2nd Story
L2S1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 6 2.49 3.3
L2S2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 6 2.85 3.3
L2S3 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 6 2.49 3.3
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L2N1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 3 3.08 3.3

L2N2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 6 1.95 3.3
L2W1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 3 3.27 3.3
L2W2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 3 3.27 3.3
L2W3 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 6 2.40 3.3
L2E1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 3 2.94 3.3
L2E2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 3 1.96 3.3
1st Story
L1S1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 3 1.93 3.3
L1S2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 3 2.17 3.3
L1S3 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 3 1.93 3.3
L1N1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 3 3.04 3.3
L1N2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 6 2.95 3.3
L1W1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 3 2.70 3.3
L1W2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 3 2.70 3.3
L1W3 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 3 2.14 3.3
L1E1 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 1 3 2.95 3.3
L1E2 7/16" OSB 1 6 7/16" OSB 2 3 1.97 3.3
Note: bold indicates changes from original design.

4.2.2. Chord Studs

Given the increased capacity of the shear walls due to decreasing the fastener spacing and/or
adding sheathing the chords studs need to be evaluated to determine if they have sufficient
capacity to carry the forces created when the shear walls are loaded to their new expected
capacity. The demands PUF and MUF are determined per Section 3.4.1 and the capacity PCL
and MCL are determined per Section 3.4.2. The interaction is evaluated per Equation (7) with
κ assumed to be 1.0. At both the life safety BSE-1E hazard level and the collapse prevention
BSE-2E hazard level, the existing 2nd story chord studs are adequate for the retrofit, but none
of the existing 1st story chord studs are adequate.
Given the existing 1st story shear wall chord studs (back-to-back 600S162-54’s) are
insufficient, retrofit options are possible, but none are without complication. The simplest
option would be to add stud(s) adjacent to the existing chord studs. Existing walls have
sheathing on only one side, so adding stud(s) inside the wall would be the obvious option –
16
 these studs would need to be connected to the existing chord studs and to the sheathing.
Adding studs outboard of the existing chord studs is also possible, but the sheathing would
need to be replaced and extended. Replacement of an existing stud with a thicker option
requires temporarily removing the gravity load during the retrofit – possible, but costly. If
simple retrofit options are impractical, another consideration is adding a new shear wall in
another part of the building to reduce the demands on each existing shear wall.
Retrofit designs consisting of adding one or two additional studs to the chord studs are
provided for the life safety BSE-1E hazard level in Table 7 and for the collapse prevention
BSE-2E hazard level in Table 8. The results of the Equation (7) interaction equation are also
provided in the tables. In the reported retrofit designs an interaction expression as high as
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1.05 was allowed. At the life safety BSE-1E hazard level adding one additional stud (for a
total of 3) is found to be sufficient; however, for the collapse prevention BSE-2E level
several shear walls require two additional studs (for a total of 4) on the East wall and one on
the North wall.
Table 7. Linear static procedure assessment results of the chord studs considering expected
capacities from shear walls retrofitted to meet life safety (LS) at the BSE-1E earthquake
hazard level.
2nd Story 1st Story
Existing Retrofit Existing Retrofit
SW Chord Stud Chord Stud Int'n SW Chord Stud Chord Stud Int'n
L2S1 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.54 L1S1 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 1.00
L2S2 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.56 L1S2 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 1.03
L2S3 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.52 L1S3 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 0.99
L2N1 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.58 L1N1 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 0.96
L2N2 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.57 L1N2 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 0.94
L2W1 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.52 L1W1 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 0.82
L2W2 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.52 L1W2 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 0.82
L2W3 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.52 L1W3 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 1.01
L2E1 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.52 L1E1 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 1.01
L2E2 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.52 L1E2 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 1.01
Note: bold indicates changes from original design. Interaction allowed up to 1.05 by engineering judgment

17
 Table 8. Linear static procedure assessment results of the chord studs considering expected
capacities from shear walls retrofitted to meet collapse prevention (CP) at the BSE-2E
earthquake hazard level.
2nd Story 1st Story
Existing Retrofit Existing Retrofit
SW Chord Stud Chord Stud Int'n SW Chord Stud Chord Stud Int'n
L2S1 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.55 L1S1 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 1.01
L2S2 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.57 L1S2 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 1.04
L2S3 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.52 L1S3 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 1.00
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L2N1 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.80 L1N1 (2) 600S162-54 (4) 600S162-54 0.78
L2N2 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.57 L1N2 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 0.60
L2W1 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.70 L1W1 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 0.91
L2W2 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.46 L1W2 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 0.91
L2W3 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.52 L1W3 (2) 600S162-54 (3) 600S162-54 1.01
L2E1 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.53 L1E1 (2) 600S162-54 (4) 600S162-54 0.75
L2E2 (2) 600S162-54 No change 0.68 L1E2 (2) 600S162-54 (4) 600S162-54 0.84
Note: bold indicates changes from original design. Interaction allowed up to 1.05 by engineering judgment

4.2.3. Ties and Hold-Downs

The retrofit design requires increased capacity of the shear walls and this also potentially
influences the existing story-to-story ties (Fig. 3b) and the hold-down anchorage (Fig. 3c).
The demands, TUF, are determined per Section 3.4.1 and must consider the load combination
for counteracting loads. The capacities, TCL, are determined per Section 3.4.2. At the life
safety BSE-1E hazard level the existing 1st-to-2nd story ties are adequate, but none of the
foundation-to-1st story hold-downs are adequate. At the collapse prevention BSE-2E hazard
level one 1st-to-2nd story tie is inadequate and again all hold-downs are inadequate as detailed
in Table 9 and Table 10.
Retrofit for the story-to-story ties can be completed relatively simply with the addition of an
additional strap on the opposite face from the existing strap. The original design also
considered the compressive capacity of the strap in an effort to avoid localized damage of the
studs in bearing against the OSB floor [16]. For higher demands, this approach becomes
more and more impractical and the introduction of a bearing plate at the OSB floor level
becomes necessary. Alternatives to using straps for the ties exist, such as the addition of
continuous tie rods as explained in the NIST Techbrief [15], this approach may be necessary
for higher demands but introduces its own retrofit challenges.
Retrofit of the foundation-to-1st story hold-down can be also be completed relatively simply
if a second hold-down (added to the opposite face of the stud) is adequate for the demand. It
is possible to place hold-downs side by side as well, thus having as many as 4 commercial
hold-downs connected to a built-up chord stud. Non-commercial options using heavy angles
are also possible for higher demands. As higher capacity hold-downs are employed, one
must note that the anchor bolt sizes typically increase, requiring additional re-design for the
retrofit. Capacity of the underlying foundation, particularly with multiple anchors in close
proximity, may further limit the available tensile capacity and require additional, more costly
and more complex, retrofit.
18
 The only tie requiring retrofit occurs at the collapse prevention (CP) performance level (BS-
2E earthquake hazard level) on the chord studs of the L2E2 shear wall. It is recommended to
simply double up the strap and connector on these chord studs. All other ties are adequate at
both the life safety (LS) and collapse prevention (CP) performance levels.
In contrast to the ties, all the hold-downs require retrofit to handle the increased demands.
Where possible it is recommended to simply double up the existing S/HDU 6 hold-downs.
However, this is not adequate for all the hold-downs in the South walls and East walls and in
the L1W3 West wall. For these cases 2 x S/HDU9 hold-downs are specified. These hold-
downs have 64 % more strength than the S/HDU6 when connected to 54 mil studs but
require a 7/8 in. anchor bolt. Full details are provided in Table 9 and Table 10.
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Table 9. Linear static procedure assessment results of the ties and hold-downs considering
expected capacities from shear walls retrofitted to meet life safety (LS) at the BSE-1E
earthquake hazard level.

1st to 2nd Story Tie Foundation to 1st Story Hold-down

Existing Retrofit Strap Connector Existing Retrofit

SW Tie (Strap) Tie TUF/TCL TUF/TCL SW Hold-down Hold-down TUF/TCL
L2S1 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.66 0.74 L1S1 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU9 0.80
L2S2 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.74 0.83 L1S2 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU9 0.90
L2S3 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.66 0.74 L1S3 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU9 0.80
L2N1 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.30 0.33 L1N1 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU6 0.64
L2N2 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.33 0.37 L1N2 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU6 0.68
L2W1 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.33 0.37 L1W1 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU6 0.66
L2W2 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.33 0.37 L1W2 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU6 0.66
L2W3 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.76 0.85 L1W3 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU9 0.91
L2E1 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.76 0.85 L1E1 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU9 0.91
L2E2 97-mil 12#10 each end 1
No Change 0.76 0.84 L1E2 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU9 0.91
1. Existing floor-to-floor tie detail 4"x97-mil STRAP x 1'-9", 12#10 each end

19
 Table 10. Linear static procedure assessment results of the ties and hold-downs considering
expected capacities from shear walls retrofitted to meet collapse prevention (CP) at the BSE-
1E earthquake hazard level.

1st to 2nd Story Tie Foundation to 1st Story Hold-down

Existing Retrofit Strap Connector Existing Retrofit
SW Tie (Strap) Tie TUF/TCL TUF/TCL SW Holddown Holddown TUF/TCL
L2S1 97-mil 12#10 each end 1
No Change 0.66 0.74 L1S1 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU9 0.80
L2S2 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.74 0.83 L1S2 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU9 0.90
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L2S3 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.66 0.74 L1S3 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU9 0.80
L2N1 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.42 0.47 L1N1 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU6 0.72
L2N2 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.33 0.37 L1N2 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU6 0.45
L2W1 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.44 0.49 L1W1 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU6 0.73
L2W2 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.44 0.49 L1W2 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU6 0.73
L2W3 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.76 0.85 L1W3 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU9 0.91
L2E1 97-mil 12#10 each end1 No Change 0.49 0.55 L1E1 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU9 0.50
L2E2 97-mil 12#10 each end 1
2 x original 0.50 0.55 L1E2 S/HDU6 (2) S/HDU9 1.01
1. Existing floor-to-floor tie detail 4"x97-mil STRAP x 1'-9", 12#10 each end

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 4.3. Design of New Building
Following the same basic procedures as the evaluation and retrofit, a new lateral design was
performed for the CFS-NEES building using current ASCE 41 requirements. The gravity
design of Madsen et al. [16] was assumed to be adequate. Thus, for the new building design
only the shear walls, chord studs, story-to-story chord stud ties, and foundation-to-1st story
hold-down anchorages were redesigned. Consistent with the evaluation work, two
performance levels were considered: life safety (LS) and collapse prevention (CP). These
two performance levels were assessed at the earthquake hazard levels consistent with new
design, therefore LS at BSE-1N and CP at BSE-2N. The increased lateral demands that are
associated with these performance and hazard levels are provided in Table 1.
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For simplicity, and to aid comparison across the designs, it was decided to try to keep the
shear wall lengths and locations the same as in the original building. (In the original design,
shear wall locations were largely driven by architectural demands, and thus it was not desired
to change this aspect.) Further, it was also decided to try to use the same lateral system and
sheathing (7/16” OSB) as the original design. Thus, the design choices reduced to the
following: single- or double-sided shear walls, fastener spacing, stud/framing thickness,
chord stud dimensions and number, strap dimensions and number of connectors for story-to-
story ties, and type and number of foundation-to-1st story hold-downs. Even with this
relatively constrained design problem, the process is more iterative than may be expected.
Gravity design requires 600S162-33 mil field studs for the 2nd story and similar 54 mil field
studs for the 1st story. Following the original CFS-NEES shear wall layout, single-sided shear
walls are possible with 7/16” OSB fastened @ 3 in. on center (o.c.) on the 2nd story and 2 in.
o.c. for the 1st story. Single-sided shear walls are preferred from the standpoint of providing
services in the wall cavity. However, back-to-back chord studs are inadequate at 33 mils for
the 2nd story and 54 mils for the 1st story. If the stud thickness is increased to improve the
adequacy of the chord studs, the shear wall capacity increases – leading to a larger expected
demand on the already inadequate chord studs. Double-sided sheathing decreases the
eccentric demands on the chord studs, and since the chord studs are the limiting factor this
benefit is significant.
Iteration of the shear wall and chord stud design for the LS performance level at the BSE-1N
earthquake hazard level is summarized in Table 11. The design freedom is somewhat limited
by the available (tabled) systems in AISI S400-15. For the 2nd story, it is found that either
single-sided 7/16” OSB sheathing with fasteners @ 3 in. o.c. or double-sided 7/16” OSB
sheathing with fasteners @ 6 in. o.c. are adequate so long as the chord studs (back-to-back
600S162) are increased to 54 mil thickness. For the 1st story, double-sided 7/16“ OSB
perimeter fastened at 6 in. o.c. with back-to-back 600S162-97 mil studs for the chord stud are
required. The chord stud demands are significant, even in just a two-story building, requiring
a 97 mil stud when gravity framing only requires a 54 mil stud at the same location. The use
of the thicker 97 mil chord stud is outside of the scope of AISI S400-15, which limits
thickness to 68 mil in this case. However, the 97 mil stud is selected here to maintain the use
of OSB sheathed shear walls in the design. Testing shows inadequate performance is
achieved with 97 mil studs if fasteners are inappropriately selected, i.e. #8 or smaller [22], in
addition in the same standard (AISI S400-15) Canada allows 97 mil studs for OSB sheathed

21
 shear walls and both the U.S. and Canada allow 97 mil studs for steel sheet sheathed shear
walls. Thus, this relaxation of the AISI S400-15 provisions is implemented in this report.
Table 11. Summary of new design iterations for shear walls and chord studs at the life safety
(LS) performance level with the BSE-1N earthquake hazard level
Shear wall Chord Studb
Story sides sheathing s (in) t (mils) utilization c
Adequate? Int’nd
2 nd
1 7/16” OSB 4 a
33 NG - -
2 7/16” OSB 6 33 92% NG 1.44
1 7/16” OSB 3 43 83% NG 1.07
2 7/16” OSB 6 43 78% NG 1.13
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1 7/16” OSB 3 54 91% OK 0.55

2 7/16” OSB 6 54 68% OK 0.69
1st 1 7/16” OSB 2 54 92% NG 3.25
2 7/16” OSB 4 54 77% NG 2.29
1 7/16” OSB 3 68 94% NG 2.08
2 7/16”OSB 6 68 88% NG 1.43
1 7/16” OSB 3 97 94% NG 1.24
2 7/16”OSB 6 97 88% OK 0.91
a. AISI S400-15 does not provide strength at 3 in. o.c., 4 in o.c. is the tightest spacing for 33 mil studs
b. Chord studs are back-to-back 600S162 with thickness to match t (mils)
c. max[(𝑣𝑣𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 /𝑣𝑣𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 )/𝑚𝑚] for shear walls d. max[𝑃𝑃𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 /𝑃𝑃𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 + 𝑀𝑀𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 /𝑀𝑀𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ] for chord studs

Design of the story-to-story ties and the hold-down anchorages proceeds relatively directly
once the shear wall and chord studs are selected. The ties consist of a strap extending from
stud-to-stud, which are checked for yielding in the gross section and fracture in the net
section. In addition, the length of the strap is controlled by the level of shear transfer and the
required number of fasteners – i.e., the connection strength. The hold-down is selected from
Simpson Strong-Tie’s S/HDU hold-down components – but could be separately designed if a
non-proprietary solution is desired.
The results of the final design – broken out for each shear wall and the newly designed
components are provided for the life safety (LS) performance level at the BSE-1N hazard
level in Table 12 and the collapse prevention (CP) performance level at the BSE-2N hazard
level in Table 13. For both performance level / hazard level combinations, the following
designs are found to be adequate and selected:
• 2nd story shear walls: 2-sided, 7/16" OSB, #8 min @ 6 in. o.c., t=54 mil,
• 2nd story chord studs: back-to-back 600S162-54,
• tie: 4” wide 97 mil 50 ksi strap 1'-9" long, connected with 12 staggered #10 screws at
each end of strap to studs,
• 1st story shear walls: 2-sided, 7/16" OSB, #10 min @ 6 in. o.c., t=68 mil
• 1st story chord studs:
o Life safety (LS) performance level: back-to-back 600S162-97 studs
o Collapse prevention (CP) performance level: back-to-back 600S200-97 studs
• Hold-down anchorage: 2 S/HDU9 Simpson hold-downs

22
 The efficiency of the design may be judged, in part, by the utilization ratios provided in
Table 11 (LS at BSE-1N) and Table 12 (CP at the BSE-2N). For construction efficiency it
was decided to keep the shear wall configurations uniform – this influences the structural
efficiency. The shear wall length and aspect ratio were largely determined by the
architectural openings which results in some shear walls (e.g. L1S2) being more highly
utilized than others (e.g. L1N2). Since essentially the same design was adequate for both the
life safety (LS) and collapse prevention (CP) assessments, it is not a surprise that the
utilization ratios at the CP level are higher (compare Table 13 with Table 12). In fact, at the
CP level the 1st story shear wall L1S2 is exactly at an m-factor of 3.3 (ratio of 1.0), and thus
greater efficiencies are not possible.
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Table 12. Performance summary of new design for shear walls, ties, and chord studs at the
life safety (LS) performance level with the BSE-1N earthquake hazard level.
2nd story and story-to-story tie 1st story and holddown anchorage
Chordb Tiec Conn.c Chorde HDf
𝑣𝑣𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑣𝑣𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 /𝑣𝑣𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑃𝑃𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑀𝑀𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑇𝑇𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑇𝑇𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑣𝑣𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑣𝑣𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 /𝑣𝑣𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑃𝑃𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑀𝑀𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑇𝑇𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈
SWa + SWd +
𝑣𝑣𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑚𝑚 𝑃𝑃𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑀𝑀𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑣𝑣𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑚𝑚 𝑃𝑃𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑀𝑀𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
L2S1 1.52 0.61 0.61 0.76 0.84 L1S1 1.97 0.79 0.62 0.73
L2S2 1.71 0.68 0.69 0.85 0.95 L1S2 2.21 0.88 0.73 0.82
L2S3 1.52 0.61 0.58 0.76 0.84 L1S3 1.97 0.79 0.61 0.73
L2N1 1.11 0.44 0.65 0.80 0.89 L1N1 1.44 0.58 0.79 0.78
L2N2 0.75 0.30 0.69 0.83 0.92 L1N2 0.97 0.39 0.91 0.70
L2W1 1.06 0.42 0.52 0.78 0.87 L1W1 1.37 0.55 0.71 0.75
L2W2 1.06 0.42 0.52 0.78 0.87 L1W2 1.37 0.55 0.71 0.75
L2W3 1.69 0.67 0.59 0.87 0.97 L1W3 2.18 0.87 0.69 0.83
L2E1 1.16 0.46 0.59 0.87 0.97 L1E1 1.50 0.60 0.77 0.84
L2E2 1.55 0.62 0.59 0.43 0.96 L1E2 2.01 0.80 0.63 0.83
max 1.71 0.68 0.69 0.87 0.97 2.21 0.88 0.91 0.84
a. 2nd story shear wall: 2-sided, 7/16" OSB, #8 min @ 6 in. o.c., t=54 mil min, b. 2nd story chord stud: back-to-
back 600S162-54, c. Tie consists of 97 mil 50 ksi strap 4' wide and 1'9" long, with 12 staggered #10 screws at
each end to studs, d. 1st story shear wall: 2-sided, 7/16" OSB, #10 min @ 6 in. o.c., t=68 mil min, e. 1st story
chord stud: back-to-back 600S162-97, f. Hold-down anchorage consists of 2 S/HDU9 Simpson hold-downs

23
 Table 13. Performance summary of new design for shear walls, ties, and chord studs at the
collapse prevention (CP) performance level with the BSE-2N earthquake hazard level.
2nd story and story-to-story tie 1st story and holddown anchorage
Chordb Tiec Conn.c Chorde HDf
𝒗𝒗𝒖𝒖𝒖𝒖 𝑣𝑣𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 /𝑣𝑣𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑃𝑃𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑀𝑀𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑇𝑇𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑇𝑇𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑣𝑣𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑣𝑣𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 /𝑣𝑣𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑃𝑃𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑀𝑀𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈 𝑇𝑇𝑈𝑈𝑈𝑈
SWa + SWd +
𝒗𝒗𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄 𝑚𝑚 𝑃𝑃𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑀𝑀𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑣𝑣𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑚𝑚 𝑃𝑃𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑀𝑀𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
L2S1 2.27 0.69 0.62 0.76 0.84 L1S1 2.95 0.89 0.69 0.73
L2S2 2.56 0.78 0.70 0.85 0.95 L1S2 3.31 1.00 0.89 0.82
L2S3 2.27 0.69 0.59 0.76 0.84 L1S3 2.95 0.89 0.69 0.73
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L2N1 1.67 0.50 0.65 0.80 0.89 L1N1 2.16 0.66 0.54 0.78
L2N2 1.13 0.34 0.70 0.83 0.92 L1N2 1.45 0.44 0.59 0.80
L2W1 1.58 0.48 0.52 0.78 0.87 L1W1 2.07 0.63 0.42 0.75
L2W2 1.58 0.48 0.52 0.78 0.87 L1W2 2.07 0.63 0.42 0.75
L2W3 2.53 0.77 0.59 0.87 0.97 L1W3 3.27 0.99 0.84 0.83
L2E1 1.73 0.53 0.59 0.87 0.97 L1E1 2.25 0.68 0.52 0.84
L2E2 2.32 0.70 0.59 0.43 0.96 L1E2 3.01 0.91 0.75 0.83
max 2.56 0.78 0.70 0.87 0.97 3.31 1.00 0.89 0.84
a. 2nd story shear wall: 2-sided, 7/16" OSB, #8 min @ 6 in. o.c., t=54 mil min, b. 2nd story chord stud: back-to-
back 600S162-54, c. Tie consists of 97 mil 50 ksi strap 4' wide and 1'9" long, with 12 staggered #10 screws at
each end to studs, d. 1st story shear wall: 2-sided, 7/16" OSB, #10 min @ 6 in. o.c., t=68 mil min, e. 1st story
chord stud: back-to-back 600S200-97, f. Hold-down anchorage consists of 2 S/HDU9 Simpson hold-downs

24
 5. Discussion
For the studied CFS-framed building, ASCE 41-17 provides a more pessimistic estimation of
the seismic response than ASCE 7-16. ASCE 41’s m-factors are based on direct shear wall
tests (as described in [13]) and are ostensibly a more direct and rational gauge of expected
behavior than the 𝑅𝑅 and Ω𝑜𝑜 factors of ASCE 7, which are based more on experience and
judgment than on direct testing [23]. However, in the case of the studied CFS-NEES
building, direct testing of the entire building system was conducted and indicated behavior
far better than ASCE 7’s prediction – even at excitations in excess of the ASCE 7 maximum
considered earthquake (MCE)-level, minimal damage occurred [17]. Thus, the true behavior
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is better than ASCE 7-16’s prediction and far better than ASCE 41-17’s prediction.
Subsequent analysis indicated that repetitively framed buildings, such as the CFS-NEES
building, have significant overstrength, even more than the amount attributed at Ω𝑜𝑜 levels
[18]. Examination of the ASCE 7 seismic response modification factors using the FEMA
P695 [24] procedure for the CFS-NEES building indicated that if only the shear walls were
considered (as essentially is done in ASCE 41 if gravity and non-structural wall contributions
to lateral capacity are ignored), the collapse probabilities are unacceptable. In contrast, if the
shear walls and all the gravity framing (unsheathed) were considered, the collapse
probabilities were acceptable – suggesting ASCE 7 response modification factors (𝑅𝑅 and Ω𝑜𝑜 )
are justified. Moreover, if the final building, with sheathing, non-structural walls, and finish
systems, was considered, the collapse probabilities were acceptable by an even wider margin
and the structural analysis was in line with the shake table test results [19]. Essentially, for
this building, and likely this building system type, ASCE 41’s lack of an “easy switch” to
account for system overstrength in the linear assessment procedure is an important reason
that it’s linear analysis method provides such pessimistic predictions of performance.
From a practical standpoint, the impact of ASCE 41-17’s conservatism is captured in the
design changes approximated in Table 14: double-sided shear walls, thicker studs, and more
hold-downs. The cost of ASCE 41-17’s conservatism for CFS-framed buildings may be
estimated by first noting 43 % of the perimeter walls are shear walls and, coincidentally,
43 % of the structural framing is in the walls (as opposed to the floors and roof). If the new
shear walls are assumed to cost twice the original walls (see Table 14) and the framing costs
for walls and floors is approximately equal per area (reasonable for this small footprint
building, with a small number of stories), the rough percentage increase in the cost of the
structure for adopting ASCE 41-17 over ASCE 7-16 even at the BSE-1E hazard level is at
least 0.43 × 0.43 = 0.18 = 18 %.

25
 Table 14. Summary of key design changes between ASCE7-16 and ASCE41-17 for CFS-
NEES building (new design).
ASCE7-16 ASCE41-17 Cost
Typ. Shear wall 1-sided OSB 2-sided OSB >2x$
6 in. spacing 6 in. spacing (Constrains intro. of
54 mil 97 mil services)a
Typ. Chord Stud 600S162-54 600S162-97 ~2x$
Typ. Anchorage S/HDU 6 S/HDU 9 x 2 >2x$
a. Limits available access for building services (e.g., water, electrical, and gas)
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While numerous differences exist between ASCE 7-16 and ASCE 41-17, it is worth parsing
out how much of the difference between the two methods is a function of R vs m, and how
much is a function of differences in the basic earthquake hazard approximation. For ASCE
7-10 and ASCE 41-13, the spectral acceleration at the BSE-2E earthquake hazard level was
closest to that in ASCE 7 and any differences were site specific. However, ASCE 41-17 has
adopted the same basic hazard levels for new design as found in ASCE 7-16. If the
fundamental period of the building is in the plateau region of the response spectrum as
illustrated in Fig. 5, the ASCE 41-17 hazard levels and ASCE 7-16 design levels can be
summarized as given in Table 15 where the BSE-1N level in ASCE 41-17 is the same as the
design earthquake (DE) level in ASCE 7-16. For a building period in the response spectrum
plateau region (as is the case for the two-story CFS-NEES building) the design base shear,
VDE, per ASCE 7-16 is:

=VDE
(=
2 3) S MS
W
S DS
W (9)
R R

where W is the weight of the building and SMS is the risk-targeted maximum considered
earthquake (MCER) spectral acceleration as defined in ASCE 7-16. Ostensibly ASCE 41-17
at the BSE-1N level is at the same hazard level as the design earthquake; however, the base
shear for this case is calculated using the following:
S DS (10)
VBSE −1N = C1C2 W
4 ( 5.6 − ln (100β ) )

which is the resulting equation obtained by substituting the spectral acceleration from the
plateau section (i.e., Sa = SXS / Β1 as defined in Section 2.4 of ASCE 41-17, where B1 is the
denominator in Equation (10) above) into Equation (1), where β is the damping ratio. For
the CFS-NEES building, 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 (for definition see Section 3.4.1) equals 1.4 and if one
assumes β (damping) equals 2 %, then:
VBSE −1N = 1.72 S DSW (11)

If one compares ASCE 41, Equation (11), to ASCE 7, Equation (9) with R set to unity, even
though the spectral acceleration is the same (𝑆𝑆𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 ), ASCE 41’s demands are significantly
greater than ASCE 7’s for the same considered hazard level.

26
 Note, for buildings with 5 % damping and a larger number of stories, and thus longer period
causing 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 → 1, this difference between ASCE 41 and ASCE 7 diminishes and 𝑉𝑉𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵−1𝑁𝑁 →
𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 . Thus, the manner that short height (short period) buildings are handled in ASCE 41
(specifically Table 7-3 in ASCE 41-17) significantly contributes to design output differences
in the two standards.

“acceleration plateau”
Spectral acceleration, Sa (g)
SXS/B1
B1 = 4 / [5.6-ln(100β)]
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SX1/B1

T0 TS 1.0

Period, T (s.)

Fig. 5. Generalized acceleration response spectrum.

Table 15. Hazard levels and response spectra values for ASCE 41-17 and ASCE 7-16
including specific values at the CFS-NEES building location.
Standard Hazard Detail of Hazard Design Short Period
Level Acceleration Response, SXS
or SDS
ASCE 41-17 BSE-1E 20 % probability of exceedance in 50 years 0.75
ASCE 41-17 BSE-2E 5 % probability of exceedance in 50 years 1.14
ASCE 41-17 BSE-1N 2/3 × BSE-2N = 2/3 × MCE 0.93
ASCE 7-16 DE 2/3 × MCE 0.93
ASCE 41-17 BSE-2N 𝑆𝑆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 = 𝑆𝑆𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 , per ASCE 7 Section 11.4 1.38
ASCE 7-16 MCE 𝑆𝑆𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 , risk-targeted MCE, i.e., MCER 1.38

In ASCE 41 the hazard levels for existing buildings (BSE-1E and BSE-2E) presumably
provide some relief compared with those for new design. As Table 15 shows, the spectral
acceleration for the BSE-1E hazard (0.75 g) is indeed reduced from that of new design
(0.93 g for both BSE-1N in ASCE 41 and DE in ASCE7). However, once the acceleration is
amplified in ASCE 41 by 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 and given that the acceptance criteria only account for
ductility (compare 𝑚𝑚 vs 𝑅𝑅) the end result is that the ASCE 7 design fails the assessment at
the BSE-1E level (as illustrated herein). This is particularly pronounced for short period
buildings with high system overstrength.
27
 To further compare ASCE 41 to ASCE 7 for the broader set of lateral systems used in CFS
shear wall construction, it’s helpful to note that ASCE 41-17 supports the same lateral
systems as AISI S400-15: OSB and plywood sheathed shear walls, steel sheet sheathed shear
walls, and strap-braced walls. Steel sheet sheathed and strap-braced shear walls are both
capable of delivering similar nominal capacities as the OSB sheathed shear walls used in the
original CFS-NEES building. The ASCE 7-16 seismic response modification coefficients
and the ASCE 41-17 𝑚𝑚-factors and 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 factors at the life safety (LS) and collapse
prevention (CP) performance levels for these additional systems are provided in Table 16.
From Table 16, one can observe that only strap-braced walls (without gypsum boards, or
with the gypsum isolated from the panel through resilient channels or other means) in ASCE
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41-17 provide a potentially more liberal solution than ASCE 7-16 (e.g., strap-brace m = 4.4
for life safety compared to OSB sheathing m = 2.5). In all other cases, similar to OSB
sheathing, it should be anticipated that ASCE 41-17’s requirements will be more stringent
than ASCE 7-16’s requirements.
Table 16. Comparison of seismic response modification factors and m-factors for common
CFS seismic force resisting systems.
ASCE7-16 ASCE41-17
𝑅𝑅 Ω𝑜𝑜 𝑅𝑅 LS CP LS CP
Ω𝑜𝑜 𝑚𝑚 𝑚𝑚 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2
OSB Sheathing 6.5 3 2.2 2.5 3.3 1.4 1.4
Struct 1. Plywood Sheathing 6.5 3 2.2 1.9 2.4 1.1 1.4
Steel Sheet Sheathing 6.5 3 2.2 1.6 1.9 1.1 1.1
Strap-braced 4 2 2.0 4.4 4.9 1.4 1.4
Strap-braced with gypsum 4 2 2.0 1.8 2.4 1.1 1.4

The use of nonlinear static or nonlinear dynamic procedures could provide further insight
into the predicted behavior of the building. However, the use of nonlinear procedures is not
expected to change the fundamental findings herein: ASCE 41 predicts higher demands than
ASCE 7, especially for short period buildings, and does not readily provide a means to easily
include system overstrength, thus resulting in conservative assessment outcomes. One
proviso on this conclusion, if the gravity and non-structural wall elements are modeled as
being meaningfully capable of resisting lateral demands and a rational approach can be
adopted for their strength and stiffness degradation, it is possible, within the ASCE 41
framework, to include the system overstrength. However, where ASCE 7 allows the
engineer to include this overstrength effect through a single Ω𝑜𝑜 factor, ASCE 41 would
require explicit modeling, with significant uncertainty in the parameters, to include the same
phenomena.

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 6. Summary and Conclusions
A two-story cold-formed steel framed building, previously designed to ASCE 7 and
successfully tested on shake tables in the laboratory, was examined to determine necessary
changes if ASCE 41 is adopted for assessment. The two-story cold-formed steel framed
building, designed to satisfy ASCE 7, fails when assessed as an existing building per ASCE
41. Retrofit, or new design, of the two-story cold-formed steel framed building such that it
meets the criteria of ASCE 41 essentially requires doubling the capacity of the seismic force
resisting system beyond that of ASCE 7. This doubling in capacity is not justified by the
experimentally and numerically validated performance of the building and is expected to
increase cost of the building’s structure by at least 18 %. The two primary factors contribute
This publication is available free of charge from: https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.2116

to the conservative nature of ASCE 41’s predictions are: (1) the basic seismic demands are
significantly greater in ASCE 41 than in ASCE 7, especially for short period structures, and
(2) large system overstrength, common in repetitively-framed structures, is accounted for in
ASCE 7, but not easily in the linear procedures of ASCE 41. Though overstrength may be
addressed in ASCE 41 by the higher tier analysis methods (i.e., nonlinear methods), for
normal low-rise CFS buildings, this level of effort may not be a realistic option. The retrofit
and redesign conducted herein highlight that, since chord studs, anchorage, and ties are
typically designed for the expected strength of the shear walls, the most efficient designs
have shear walls which are highly utilized (i.e., with demand-to-capacity ratios that are as
close to the ASCE 41 𝑚𝑚-factors as possible). For ASCE 41 to realize its performance-based
design vision and for society to benefit from the flexibility afforded by such frameworks, the
basic predicted seismic response for cold-formed steel framed buildings needs to be more
closely aligned with reality as demonstrated by shake table tests. Thus, improvements in
both demand and capacity procedures for ASCE 41 are needed for this class of building.

29
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 Appendix A Supplemental Information
Figure 6 illustrates the naming convention for CFS members. Standard studs and tracks are
identified by the Steel Stud Manufacturers Association (SSMA) identification code [21].
The identification codes are formed by a four-part identification code:
1. Depth in 1/100th inches. For studs, the depth is the outside depth. For tracks, the
depth is the inside depth (the depth of the stud the track fits over).
2. Style: S =Stud (C-Section with Lips), T = Track (C-Section without Lips)
3. Flange Width in 1/100th inches.
4. Minimum base material thickness (95 % of design thickness) in 1/1000th inches
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For example, a section with the designation 600S162-54 is a stud (C-section with lips), with
a depth of 6 inches, a flange width of 1 5/8 inches, and a minimum thickness of 0.054 inches.

Fig. 6. CFS member naming convention per SSMA [21].

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