The flexural stiffness and buckling capacity of gypsum-board-sheathed wood studs are dependent on the shear strength and stiffness of the fastener connections. This paper presents an experimental investigation of the load-slip relationship of these connections subjected to shear loading. Small-scale tests were conducted on specimens consisting of 12.7 mm gypsum board fastened to 2x4 Spruce-Pine-Fir (SPF) wood studs with 32 mm coarse gypsum-board screws. All typical connection locations within a sheathed wall structure were tested. The influences of the fastener location, moisture content, type of edge, side distance, orientation of the gypsum board paper, and rate-of-displacement on the load-slip response were investigated. The fastener locations influenced the ductility but not the strength. Higher moisture contents corresponded to lower strengths. Factory-formed tapered edges were stronger than field-cut edges. Connections 10 mm from an edge were weaker than those 19 mm from an edge. The orientation of the paper influenced the failure mode, and so the ductility, but did not influence the strength. The rate-of-displacement did not have a significant effect within the tested range of 0.25 mm/min to 2.5 mm/min.
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