Modares Mechanical Engineering

Modares Mechanical Engineering

Capacity Assessment of Cold Formed Steel Shear Walls Using Numerical Modeling and Regression Surrogate Model

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Shahin Lale Arefi 1
Mahdi Bitarafan 2
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Esfarayen University of Technology, Esfarayen, Iran
2 International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES), Tehran, Iran
10.48311/mme.2026.118783.82940
Abstract
Cold formed steel structures, known for their efficiency, cost-effectiveness and environmental benefits, play a pivotal role in meeting the needs of societies for durable, cost-effective and environmentally friendly structures. However, what ensures its stability and safety against lateral forces are steel shear walls. In this paper, a finite element model was developed based on laboratory data, which includes 3D deformable shell elements for columns, beams and steel cladding. In previous studies, the issue of bolts and their spacing, as well as the effect of steel sheet thickness, has not been addressed. The aim of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting steel shear walls through the analysis of data from the finite element analysis of CFS shear walls. Then, using a regression substitution model, the effects of the parameters of plate thickness (t) and edge screw spacing (s) on the maximum shear capacity, displacement, initial stiffness and energy dissipation of the investigated escapement were investigated. The results showed that the maximum shear capacity increases nonlinearly with t and decreases with s. To evaluate the proposed model, the performance metrics R²=0.9816, MAE=12.42, and RMSE=17.28 were used. These values indicate a very good fit between the model predictions and the results obtained from numerical simulations and experimental data. The findings provide practical tools for optimizing CFS shear walls, improving seismic performance and filling gaps in key parameters. Finally, the model output was converted into a design plan that allows for direct estimation of the shear wall capacity in each combination.
Keywords
Cold formed steel structures
shear wall
connections
numerical analysis
regression model

Subjects

 
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Modares Mechanical Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 6
May 2026
Pages 451-462