The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI) has published a new Technical Note, “Antiterrorism Design Requirements for Cold-Formed Steel Framing” (Tech Note S100-16). While cold-formed steel can be used throughout the building as exterior and/or interior walls, floor and roof systems, this Technical Note focuses on blast protection of building envelopes, specifically exterior walls.  

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Unified Facilities Criteria program has developed documents to assist design engineers through the implementation of antiterrorism requirements into cold-formed steel framing design. This Technical Note provides detailed discussion to clear up any confusion related to these topics:

• The applicability of UFC 4-010-01 to the design of the building envelope.
• Static and dynamic design approaches for exterior walls.
• Application of these design approaches in a design example.                                                                        

Tech Note S100-16 was written by Nabil Rahman, Ph.D., P.E., Director of Engineering and R&D for The Steel Network, Inc. and a Principal of FDR Engineers; and Casey O’Laughlin, P.E., Senior Research and Development Engineer at Jacobs Technology. Nabil Rahman has vast experience in cold-formed steel design, product development, and software development, as well as the analysis and protection of structures against extreme loads (progressive collapse, blast and impact). Casey O’Laughlin has unique experience leading RDT&E (Research Development Test and Evaluation) efforts for various technologies against blast, ballistic, forced entry, and other security engineering-related projects.  

This Technical Note is the latest in CFSEI’s continuing series of instructional documents on topics related to cold-formed steel framing for commercial and residential construction.
CFSEI Technical Notes are available free of charge to CFSEI members at www.cfsei.org. Non-members can purchase them at the AISI Steel Store.

CFSEI maintains a Steel Framing Hotline to answer inquiries from construction professionals seeking cold-formed steel solutions for their projects. Suggestions for additional Technical Note topics are welcomed. The Steel Framing Hotline is accessible at 1-800-79-STEEL.