Study of the shear behaviour of floor diaphragms in light steel residential buildings

Steel housing solutions made of thin-walled cold-formed profiles (CFS) appear to be very competitive in seismic areas due their lightweight and the associated reduced mass. This non-negligible advantage with costs ease erection popular this type building solution. Aimed at investigating potential these structural systems, recent years, several extensive studies lateral response shear walls were carried out. On contrary, little attention was paid behavior floor diaphragms on contribution overall response. The University Trento, framework a wider research project aimed development residential system CFS profiles, investigated systems subjected plane loading. Four types floors characterized by two different beams deck tested both monotonic cyclic regime. Experimental results enabled calibration FE models simulating components whole floors. In paper, main features outcomes tests numerical analyses are presented discussed.