A significant amount of wood structural panel wall bracing tests have been completed by APA in the development of new narrow wall bracing for use in the 2006 International Residential Code (IRC). Since test boundary conditions greatly influence test results, a paper was written to show just what the differences can be. This paper was presented at the 2006 World Conference on Timber Engineering, in August. Below is a summary.

In the development of new narrow wall bracing, testing was conducted on bracing segments that are currently permitted in the IRC to establish performance criteria from which to compare results. The results show that the braced wall segment strength and stiffness are highly dependent on the boundary conditions used. Strength can vary by a factor near 2 and stiffness can vary by a factor near 6, depending on test boundary conditions. Some results of shear wall tests are also being examined. These results may be useful in the development of standards for evaluating wall bracing and for further developing wall bracing provisions in model codes.

Download the full paper, Development of Narrow Wall Bracing and Effects of Boundary Conditions. Read more about the 2006 World Conference on Timber Engineering and other APA presentations.