A research project encompassing five years of work and over $2 million of industry and National Science Foundation funding has advanced the seismic performance of steel floor and roof diaphragms.
The Steel Diaphragm Innovation Initiative (SDII), which includes a variety of industry organizations and researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Virginia Tech, Northeastern University and Walter P. Moore, studied steel diaphragms reengineered for seismic performance, considering them as a system that works as an integral part of a building.
The new steel diaphragm report
The report, “Steel Diaphragm Innovation Initiative, Year 5, Final Report,” is available for free download.
“The work has resulted in the adoption of new provisions in seismic codes and standards that will increase the already high level of seismic safety of steel buildings, lead to more efficient design, and enhance steel as the material of choice for sustainable seismic solutions,” says an American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) news release.
In addition, SDII has provided a long-term roadmap to further innovative pathways and solutions that will ensure efficient, robust, resilient steel building systems, with specific focus on the role of the floor and roof system in the seismic performance of steel buildings.
According to SDII, steel deck diaphragms have a number of strengths:
- Low weight
- Use of recycled material
- Competitive cost
- Potential redundancies from a large number of connection points between the diaphragm and other structural elements
“In addition, steel diaphragm systems may be realized across a wide range of stiffness (from bare steel deck to concrete-filled floor and roof systems), giving designers a great deal of flexibility,” the AISI’s steel construction news website, BuildUsingSteel.org.
Prior to SDII, the available data on diaphragms was not gathered together and was largely focused on the strength of isolated systems instead of ductility or whole-building performance.
“The SDII set out to advance the seismic performance of steel floor and roof diaphragms used in steel buildings through better understanding of diaphragm-structure interaction, new design approaches, and new three-dimensional modeling tools,” says BuildUsingSteel.org.
- Download “Steel Diaphragm Innovation Initiative, Year 5, Final Report”
- Watch the NASCC: The Virtual Steel Conference’s one-hour seminar summarizing SDII activities
The SDII organization
The SDII was created in 2015 when AISI partnered with the American Institute of Steel Construction, Metal Building Manufacturers Association, Steel Deck Institute, Steel Joist Institute and the Cold-Formed Steel Research Consortium. CFSRC includes researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Virginia Tech, Northeastern University and Walter P. Moore.
More information can be obtained on the SDII website at www.steeli.org.