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AISI Publishes Report on Test Results of Power-Actuated Fasteners

The following is a press release provided to GlobalFastenerNews.com. Contact the individual company for additional information.

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) has completed testing on the cyclic/seismic lateral performance of power-actuated fasteners (PAFs) for connecting cold-formed steel (CFS) to concrete base materials as part of interior and exterior wall framing applications. The laboratory results demonstrate that tested capacities of the cold-formed steel track-to-concrete PAF connections exceed those used for design under the current ASCE 7 (2010) provisions.

Details of the testing and results are included in a report titled: “RP13-3: Report on Laboratory Testing of Fastening of CFS Track to Concrete Base Materials With PAFs.” A free download is available here (65 pages).

“PAFs are a proven, safe and cost-effective installation option for the fastening of cold-formed steel track sections to steel, concrete and masonry base materials,” said Bonnie Manley, P.E., Regional Director, Construction Codes and Standards and leader of AISI’s Seismic Code Team. “The data collected from this testing program supports the extended use of PAFs in higher Seismic Design Categories D, E and F as an alternative to post-installed or cast-in-concrete anchors for CFS track fastening. The report provides the necessary substantiation that will allow AISI’s Committee on Specifications to consider modifying provisions of AISI S100-12 (North American Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members, 2012 Edition).”

The test set-up and protocol for the program replicated a previous testing program whose results are summarized in AISI Research Report RP10-3, “Report on Laboratory Testing of Anchor Bolts Connecting Cold-Formed Steel Track to Concrete With Minimum Edge Distances” (available here). Twenty-five CFS track-to-concrete configurations were tested, with a portion tested in duplicates. The testing was conducted by Hilti North America for AISI’s Committee on Specifications.

AISI’s codes and standards work is conducted under the Construction Market Council of the Steel arket Development Institute (SMDI), a business unit of AISI, which oversees the industry’s investment in advancing the competitive use of steel by meeting the demands of the marketplace. For more information on SMDI’s Construction Market program, visit www.smdisteel.org. 

AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. AISI is comprised of 23 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 125 associate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. AISI’s member companies represent over three-quarters of both U.S. and North American steel capacity.  For more news about steel and its applications, view AISI’s website at www.steel.org.