STUDY ON SHEAR CAPACITY OF PLYWOOD SHEATHED SHEAR WALLS WITH SMALL OPENINGS

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of small openings for plumbing and outlet boxes, which have been neglected or not considered in residential-scale wood-frame buildings, on the shear performance of panel sheathed shear walls. Since shear failure of plywood is the dominant factor that reduces the shear capacity of a wall, an estimate of the maximum strength can be made. A method was proposed to estimate the entire shear capacity of the wall in combination with existing methods. The proposed method was confirmed to be in close agreement with the experimental values.