Numerical investigation of the influence of fastening screw spacing in OSB sheathing on the stiffness of shear walls in light steel framing systems

The growing demand for innovation in the Brazilian construction industry, driven by the housing deficit and the need for optimization, highlights Light Steel Framing (LSF) as an efficient solution. However, its acceptance in Brazil is limited due to the lack of technical parameters for structural design and numerical modeling, especially regarding the use of Oriented Strand Board (OSB) panels. The use of slender Cold-Formed Steel (CFS) results in greater horizontal displacement of structures due to wind or even seismic forces, requiring efficient bracing systems for shear walls. Therefore, this study aims to analyze, through computational simulation, the influence of the fastening screw spacing of OSB panels in shear walls within the LSF system, with OSB sheathing on both sides. The analysis was performed using Abaqus CAE (2024) to model the panels, varying the spacing of the fastening screws in the OSB sheathing. The results demonstrate that the model with the smallest screw spacing of 75 mm exhibited the best performance, reaching a maximum force of 39.26 kN, a displacement of 29.83 mm, and an elastic stiffness of 1.38 kN/mm. The increasing of the screw spacing to 100 mm and 150 mm resulted in a 3.8% and 24.8% reduction in maximum force, respectively, and consequently led to a 38.8% and 54.6% reduction in elastic stiffness. It is concluded that the structural resistance of the panels is strongly influenced by screw spacing, with a small space between the fasteners contributing to an increase in resistance and lateral stiffness of the panels.