Monday, October 21, 2013

Shear Walls Systems

As the name implies, shear walls resist lateral load in shear.  Shear walls may be of wood, concrete or masonry.  In the US the most common material for low-rise  apartments is light-weight wood framing with plywood or particle board sheathing. Framing studs, spaced 16 or 24 inches, support gravity load and sheathing resists lateral  shear.  In seismic areas concrete and masonry shear walls must be reinforced with steel  bars to resist lateral shear.

1  Wood shear wall with plywood sheathing
2  Light gauge steel shear wall with plywood sheathing
3  Concrete shear wall with steel reinforcing
4  CMU shear wall with steel reinforcing
5  Un-reinforced brick masonry (not allowed in seismic areas)
8  Two-wythe brick shear wall with steel reinforcing


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