Investigation of design values computation of wood shear walls constructed with structural foam sheathing

This study investigated the ultimate lateral load capacity of shear walls constructed with several types of structural foam sheathing. Sixteen tests were conducted and the results were compared to the published design values commutated by the manufactures for each test series. The sheathing products included 12.7 mm (1/2 in) SI-Strong, 25.4 mm (1 in) SI-Strong, 12.7 mm (1/2 in) R-Max Thermasheath, and 2 mm (0.078 in) ThermoPly Green. The structural foam sheathing was attached per the manufacturers\' specification to one side of the wood frame for each wall tested. Standard 12.7 mm (1/2 in) gypsum wallboard was screwed to the opposite side of the frame. Simpson HDQ8 tie-down anchors were screwed to the terminal studs at each end of the wall and anchored to the base of the testing apparatus. Both monotonic and cyclic testing following ASTM E564 and ASTM E2126, respectively, were considered. Results from the monotonic tests showed an 11 to 27 percent smaller capacity when compared to the published design values. Likewise, the test results from the cyclic tests showed a 24 to 45 percent smaller capacity than the published design values and did not meet the seismic performance design criteria computation.