STUD SHEAR™ CONNECTOR
Presently, exterior brick veneer on a building is used primarily for aesthetics and to provide a weathering surface. No consideration is given to the utilization of the veneer as a structural component. All lateral loads (i.e., wind and earthquake) acting on the brick veneer must be transferred to a backup wall system by means of appropriately designed ties. In many cases, the backup wall consists of steel studs or wood studs, and is designed to resist all of the applied loads.
The Stud Shear™ Connector was developed to transfer shear between the brick veneer and the backup wall. With the use of this shear resisting connector, composite load carrying action is achieved between the brick veneer and backup wall, resulting in a wall system with a changed and improved load resisting capacity.
STUD SHEAR™ CONNECTOR DESCRIPTION
Every Stud Shear™ Connector assembly consists of a Stud Shear™ Connector Plate, a V-Tie™, and an optional Insulation Support.
The Stud Shear™ Connector Plate component, presented in Figure 1, is manufactured from 16 gauge (1.61 mm [0.063"] thick) sheet metal conforming to ASTM Standard A570, and is available in hot dipped galvanized finish (conforming to CSA CAN3-A370 and ASTM A123 requirement of 401 g/m2/side [1.31 oz/ft2/side] of zinc coating), and stainless steel.
The length of the Stud Shear™ Connector can vary to accommodate stud width (S), of 102 mm (4"), 152 mm (6"), and 203 mm (8"), insulation plus gypsum sheathing thickness (l+G), of 0 mm (0") and up, and air space width (A), of 25 mm (1") and greater.
Four, 6.0 mm (0.24") diameter screw holes in the stud width portion (S), of the Stud Shear™ Connector Plate provide for adequate fixity of the plate to the steel stud. Note that a minimum of two screws per connector is required to produce a moment connection. The shear mode connection of the screws is much more desirable than the corrosion susceptible tension mode connection.
Thermal bridging reducing holes are incorporated within the insulation thickness portion (I + G), of the Stud Shear™ Connector Plate.
A series of eight, 5.8 mm (0.23") diameter holes are utilized to attach the V-Tie™ component to the Stud Shear™ Connector Plate.
The V-Tie™, as shown in Figure 2, is manufactured from 4.76 mm (0.19") diameter wire conforming to CSA Standard G30.3, and is available in hot dipped galvanized finish (conforming to CSA CAN3-A370 and ASTM A123 requirement of 458 g/m2/side [1.5 oz/ft2/side] of zinc coating), or stainless steel.
The legs of the V-Tie™ are mortared into place at the centerline of the brick veneer. V-Tie™ sizes of 60 (2.4"), 80 (3.1"), 100 (3.9"), 120 (4.7"), 140 (5.5"), 160 (6.3"), 180 (7.1"), 200 (7.9"), 225 (8.9") and 250 mm (9.8") lengths are available.
The Insulation Support is manufactured from polyethylene and is optionally used to secure the sheet insulation in place.
A Stud Shear™ Connector assembly is shown in Figure 4, with an installation wall section given in Figure 5.
The vertical orientation of the Plate, in conjunction with the positive moment connections between the stud and the Plate, and between the V-Tie™ and the brick veneer results in the ability of the Stud Shear™ Connector to transfer vertical shear forces from the masonry veneer to the structural stud backup wall system. This shear transfer capability results in an increased stiffness of the wall system, thereby reducing the lateral deflection of the wall, while at the same time increasing the load carrying capacity of the wall system.
