Midrise Cold-Formed Steel Framing for Structural Engineers

A Presentation/Ask the Expert Session of the SFIA Forum for CFS industry outreach and Input

Dave & Busters, 1030 Auahi Street, Honolulu, Hawaii

April 28, 2022, 3:00 to 5:00 pm

Cold-formed steel (CFS) has been used for decades in Hawaii. With most single-family homes in Hawaii built with steel framing, there is renewed interest in applying these advantages to mid-rise buildings, particularly to help maximize the return on investment from the state's expensive land costs. Nationwide, Cold-formed steel wall framing is being used extensively in multi-story load bearing applications. Today, more than ever, this wall framing is being prefabricated into panels, offering the benefits of time, material and cost savings. In order for these projects to be successful, the cold-formed steel engineer must take into account additional factors that are inherent to panelization.

Part 1 will consist of a presentation from 2 industry experts, Pat Ford, and Robert Grupe. They will provide an overview on how to plan with the panel fabricator and engineer with field installation in mind. Additional engineering consideration will be given to different floor systems, load distribution members and panel discontinuity. The presentation will include several examples of projects with these panel challenges. In addition, this session will provide an overview of the changes (with applicable timing) to the codes, reference standards and specifications relative to cold-formed steel (CFS) framing that have occurred in recent years. Several typical CFS member capacities have been affected. The presentation will provide insight for structural engineers to better understand the complexities and interactions of the changing codes and standards landscape.

Part 2 of the afternoon will consist of a Q&A Session. Cold-formed steel design is not typically a course topic offered at universities. Therefore, an engineer is on her/his own to self-educate. In this interactive session, the presenters will review some of the most frequently asked questions they receive and will also answer your specific cold-formed steel questions. The most frequently asked questions include:

• Should loose straps be a concern?
• Does gypsum between the steel plies impact the screw connection strength?
• For the single-side strap, do I need to be concerned when designing the boundary post design?
• How does one design a shear wall for force transfer around openings?
• What wind loading drift limits are appropriate for mid-rise structures?

Take advantage of this opportunity to self-educate with two of the industry’s most respected experts.

Register here

About the Presenters

Robert Grupe Robert Grupe is Program General Manager for the Steel Framing Industry Association, managing the SFIA’s Architectural Services Team located in the Eastern, Western, and Central Regions. He has spent over 38 years with United States Gypsum Company in various technical and management positions, including product and system design and technical consultation to the AEC community. He is currently also the Director of Technical Services for the Association of Wall and Ceiling Industry (AWCI).

Pat Ford, P.E. Pat Ford is Technical Director of the Steel Framing Industry Association, overseeing the SFIA’s code compliance certification programs and all technical resources, including the SFIA code reports and Technical Product Catalog. Pat also manages the cold-formed steel design team at raSmith, now one of the largest cold-formed steel engineering groups in the United States, providing services to architects, builders, and general contractors throughout the United States.