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Specifying cold-formed steel to meet project goals

March 10, 2017
A ledger framing system installed in a project in Carlsbad, California.

Conclusion
Many professionals consider cold-formed steel to be limited to use for interior drywall partition framing or as a framing backup for exterior building finishes. However, recent structural analysis from the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA) shows cold-formed steel-framed high-rises are possible.

The group’s technical director, Patrick Ford, PE, recently designed a 40-story high-rise using only common cold-formed steel profiles and thicknesses for the gravity-load-resisting system—without requiring the development of any specialized framing products. (For more on the project, visit www.buildsteel.org/2016/11/29/high-can-construct-building-cold-formed-steel-framing-answer-may-surprise.) In the future, as urban developers and building owners continue to look vertical to meet the demands of a growing population, cold-formed steel has the potential to reach far beyond mid-rise construction and become an option for high-rise building projects.

 AVAILABLE COLD-FRAMED STEEL RESOURCES
There are abundant resources available to building professionals interested in learning more about how to use cold-formed steel (CFS), covering a wide range of topics from the material’s general benefits and properties to assistance with very specific project applications.

  1. BuildSteel (www.buildsteel.org) is a newly launched collaboration of steel and construction industry organizations, which offers original and curated content from around the construction industry as well as complimentary project assistance for applications of cold-formed steel framing in the United States and Canada.
  2. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) offers a suite of design and test standards covering the testing of individual connections/members and complete systems, as well as design manuals and guides illustrating the practical application of standards at www.aisistandards.org.
  3. The Cold-formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI) offers technical notes, case studies, webinars, seminars, and other technology transfer resources on topics such as fire, acoustic, and thermal performance. Visit www.cfsei.org.
  4. The Steel Framing Alliance (SFA) operates the Steel Hotline (1-800-79-STEEL), enabling engineers, architects, and builders working with cold-formed steel framing to find answers to specific project-related questions. For more information, visit www.steelframing.org/hotline.html).
  5. Associations of cold-formed steel product manufacturers, including the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA), Steel Stud Manufacturers Association (SSMA), and Certified Steel Stud Association (CSSA) can also be invaluable sources of information.

Don Allen, PE, LEED AP, is director of engineering at Super Stud Building Products, headquartered in Edison, New Jersey. He is an internationally recognized expert on cold-formed steel structural design, and is involved with hundreds of cold-formed steel projects each year. Allen can be contacted via e-mail at dallen@buysuperstud.com.

Robert Wills, PE, is vice president of construction market development for the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). He is responsible for overseeing several construction market programs in commercial buildings and the transportation/infrastructure markets, as well as the AISI Construction Technical Program. Wills can be reached via e-mail at rwills@steel.org.

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