Santa Clara University

Innovation through research, cooperation and support

If you're not a civil engineer, what interest could you possibly have in the Center for Light Frame Structural Research (CLFSR), formerly known as the Light Gauge Steel Research Group (LGSRG)? Plenty, as it turns out! This group has made an invaluable contribution to our safety by testing and researching the properties and capabilities of light gauge steel and its building processes. And its inception, development and success stand as a shining example of the synergy that can be realized when people and agencies work together in a spirit of cooperation and support.

Since its formation in 1994, the LGSRG has supported the development of innovative and practical methods of and components for construction, and has introduced basic guidelines for the design of cold-formed steel and cold-formed steel based products. It has contributed to research that has served as the basis of industry-wide requirements adopted into code by the American Iron and Steel Institute. But it is the story of how the LGSRG came into being that is so interesting.

In 1991, when Professor Reynaud Serrette left Cornell University to join the Civil Engineering Department at Santa Clara University, he was surprised to learn that no research was being performed on cold-formed steel on the West Coast. With no mandate from industry or government agencies, but driven by his passion for furthering this technology, Serrette began visiting engineers throughout North America, discussing standards for construction and processes, and paying his expenses out of his own pocket. Through his travels, he built relationships within the industry and obtained donations of equipment and materials to begin testing.

It soon became apparent that the lab facilities at SCU were insufficient to do the type of research Serrette had in mind, so he enlisted the help of Simpson Strong Ties, a Southern California firm that loaned the use of their tools and testing facilities free of charge. Serrette would take students with him for a week at a time to run their research. "Where information was lacking, we started testing", he said.

Soon, Serrette was making presentations on his findings all over the world, from the Azores and Finland, to Japan, Germany, and Spain, while continuing his research, running the SCU graduate Civil Engineering program, teaching up to 12 courses a year, and establishing the Light Gauge Steel Research Group.

It was at just this time that the magnitude 6.7 earthquake hit Northridge, California, in January 1994. Damage to woodframe construction resulting from this quake accounted for 24 of the 25 fatalities and at least half of the $40 billion property loss. In all, 48,000 housing units, mostly all woodframe buildings, were left uninhabitable by the earthquake.

Recognizing the parallels between woodframe and light gauge steel construction, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) found it imperative that standards for steel construction be established, and the Light Gauge Steel Engineers Association, also formed in 1994, asked Serrette to lend his research to this effort. As a result, the cold-formed steel industry was the first to introduce lateral design values for braced wall lines based on reversed cyclic testing (using a push-pull test, rather than simply a push test as had been done up to this time) which was conducted by Serrette and SCU civil engineering students. In less than one year, Serrette's 1995 report was approved for inclusion in the 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC) a speed that is nearly unheard of.

Involved with smaller aspects of the light gauge steel construction industry as well, the LGSRG assisted when, in the wake of the Northridge earthquake, approvals for all pneumatically driven steel pin devices were revoked by the International Code Council Evaluation Services (ICC-ES). The group worked with manufacturers on new testing and developed acceptance criteria to be used by the entire field. Using these criteria leads to automatic ICC-ES approval.

Today the Center for Light Frame Structural Research continues the work started by the Light Gauge Steel Research Group. Working with engineering companies and contractors to provide research that qualifies concepts developed by the contractor, the Center facilitates the technological advancement of the field and enhances the safety of all of us. Professor Serrette, the first academician to hold the post of president of the former Light Gauge Steel Research Group in 2004-2005, remains committed to the advancement of this field. In fact, his research on shear wall load capability formed the basis of requirements for Type I and Type II shear walls in the recently revised 2006 Code of Standard Practice for Cold-formed Steel Structural Framing released by the American Iron and Steel Institute.

For the past 12 years, the Center for Light Frame Structural Research has contributed greatly to the practice of structural design through research and collaboration between industry, engineering, and code groups. With a collaborative, supportive approach to furthering technology and practice, the Center has truly made a positive impact on society.