Strength of Bearing Stiffeners in Cold Formed C-sections

The applications of cold formed steel in residential construction have been increasing rapidly in recent years around the world. Some framing practices have been developed that are not covered by the current design specifications, such as using thin cold formed steel stud sections as web stiffeners for C-section floor joists. Earlier tests have shown that the current design methods are unconservative when applied to the types of stiffeners in common usage today. There are a number of variables that influence the capacity of these stiffeners such as stiffener type, position on the joist and connections. All parameters need to be considered if a reliable design procedure is to be formulated. Described in this paper is an experimental investigation of what effects the stiffener end gap, fastener configurations and bearing width have on the ultimate capacity of a stiffened cold formed steel C-section joist subject to two-flange loading