Cold-Formed Steel Slotted Track Design Strength

Slotted tracks are commonly used in the construction of nonload-bearing infill walls in steel and concrete frame structures. These members are configured with closely spaced slots in the track flanges to accommodate the relative vertical displacements between adjacent floors and a variety of stud spacings. Engineered design of slotted tracks is based entirely on manufacturer published data, which in turn are largely based on testing. Published data typically give allowable design strength but often do not indicate the controlling limit state—strength or serviceability—and there is a general lack of information on safety and resistance factors. Based on a series on monotonic tests, it is shown that the setup used to evaluate performance and develop design values can significantly influence the reported design values. It is finally recommended that manufacturers, and the cold-formed steel industry, move toward development of a standard for evaluation and reporting of test-based design values.