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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cold-formed steel for seismic resilience? It’s on the table

Researchers test a 10-story CFS building on UC San Diego's earthquake simulator

San Diego, CA, May 20, 2025 – Cold-formed steel is strong, lightweight, durable, cost-effective, and 100% recyclable — yet it is not widely used as an earthquake-resistant building material. This summer, researchers hope to change that. In June, earthquake engineers will test the performance a 10-story CFS building on the University of California San Diego shake table, the world’s largest outdoor earthquake simulator. The facility is part of the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure network, NHERI, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

The CFS10 research project, led by Tara Hutchinson of UC San Diego, Ben Schafer of Johns Hopkins University, and Richard Emberley, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, will assess the seismic and live fire performance of a 10-story structure that exceeds current ASCE 7-22 design standards — by four stories. This NSF-industry supported effort, capping eight years of collaboration, aims to redefine building codes and improve seismic resilience for tall structures in earthquake-prone regions. It also aims to understand post-earthquake live fire behavior with real fire test scenarios in damaged compartments within the building.

Above and beyond building code

“Our experiment tests bold ideas about cold-formed steel construction,” Hutchinson said. “We want to advance construction practices in the United States, and real data from this test will shape safer building codes. Fundamentally, our project aims to improve urban resilience, making taller buildings in seismic zones safer.”

Significantly lighter than a concrete or wood-framed structures of similar size, the CFS10 building resembles an apartment building or hotel. It was assembled directly on the platen, or base, of the shake table, which is controlled from below by a sophisticated hydraulic system. The shake table — which can roll forward-backward, up-down, and left-right — will subject the structure to realistic earthquake simulations, including recordings from the 6.7-magnitude 1994 Northridge earthquake. More than 750 sensors will track the response of key cold-formed steel components, and numerous non-structural components that make the building a real building, including —

Differing CFS shear wall systems, systems that brace against sideways shaking.
Floor and ceiling systems that transmit lateral earthquake forces to vertical resisting elements.
A mix of tie-rod and co-linear compression / tension type connections that hold the system together.
Non-structural elements: windows, doors, pressurized fire sprinklers and gas lines; a modular staircase, all critical components for egress and post-earthquake reoccupation.
Modular versus panelized versus stick-framed CFS construction methods.

The campaign will conclude with a fire test, led by California Polytechnic State University and Johns Hopkins University researchers, to assess the building’s resilience to post-earthquake fire hazards. Unlike other building materials, cold-formed steel is non-combustible, further bolstering its resilient performance.

“As a structural engineer, I’m really interested in the overall performance of the load sharing between the designated structural system and all the rest of the building,” Schafer said. “That’s really been the secret sauce of the system behavior for cold-formed steel. We want to understand that load sharing.”

Functional recovery. Beyond seismic performance, the team will study how quickly a CFS building can return to use after an earthquake. By analyzing damage and predicting failure risks for structural and non-structural components, researchers aim to minimize downtime, a key consideration for reducing economic and social disruption.

Testing CFS Advantages

Weight and height: A lighter structure reduces earthquake forces, which, due to larger accelerations, can be amplified at the higher floors of mid-size to tall buildings. The experiment will reveal whether CFS can maintain stability and minimize damage in taller configurations.
Resilience: CFS building components that resist earthquake shaking include shear walls, floor and roof diaphragms, and connection systems. The shake table test will reveal how well these components resist lateral forces. The inclusion of non-structural components ensures a holistic assessment, as these often fail in earthquakes, affecting recovery.
Fast Recovery: A resilient building may suffer earthquake damage but can be repaired and re-occupied quickly. This test will demonstrate whether CFS structures can potentially minimize economic and social disruption.

A Future for tall CFS buildings

Researchers and their industry partners hope to redefine CFS construction as a viable alternative to reinforced concrete, timber, or traditional steel-framed high-rise buildings. The CFS10 project may lead to lighter, stronger, earthquake-resistant skyscrapers with faster recovery times, reducing vulnerability of earthquake-prone cities.

The NHERI at UC San Diego shake table test is the finale of a multi-university, industry-supported effort. Dozens of steel and other material industry partners provided materials and funding.

“Nearly everyone in the steel industry contributed to this building,” Schafer said. “We’re testing how far lightweight CFS can go, maximizing insights for researchers and our partners.” View the complete list of CFS10 sponsors and partners on the CFS10 project website.

Funded by NSF awards #1663569 and #1663348, the CFS10 project builds on prior 2- and 6-story tests.

The earthquake experiments at UC San Diego begin in June 2025, with media day events live-streamed. Live fire experiments begin in July 2025. View the project anytime via UC San Diego live cams: https://nheri.ucsd.edu/live-cams. Media are invited to attend the live-streamed media day. Contact Iona Patringenaru at ipatring@ucsd.edu at UC San Diego for details.

A crane places the 8th floor atop the CFS structure. Click to see the full time-lapse assembly video. (Image: UC San Diego)

Above:UC San Diego PI Tara Hutchinson (center) with two of her PhD students. (Image: UC San Diego)

Below: Johns Hopkins PI Ben Schafer (right) and student examine cold-formed steel members in Schafer’s Thin Walled Structures lab. (Image: Johns Hopkins University)

Final CFS10 structure assembled on the NHERI at UC San Diego LHPOST shake table. (Image: UC San Diego)

Sustainable Steel

Did you know?

In the U.S., most cold-formed steel is made from recycled steel materials.
CFS construction is fast and generates little waste.
CFS can be constructed with individual, repeating members, panels, or modules, making it one of the few materials that is flexible with construction methods.
CFS structures readily resist harsh weather and can outlast timber and concrete.
CFS buildings easily meet modern energy-saving codes such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED.

Team atop the CFS10 structure, organizing placement of more than 750 sensors. (Image: UC San Diego)

Media Contacts

Iona Patringenaru
UC San Diego
Jacobs School of Engineering
619-253-4474
ipatring@ucsd.edu

Danielle McKenna
John Hopkins University
Whiting School of Engineering
410-516-8908
dmckenn5@jhu.edu

About NHERI

Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure – NHERI – is a national network of university-centered experimental facilities and resources. NHERI facilities are dedicated to reducing damage and loss-of-life due to natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, windstorms, wildfires, tsunamis and storm surge. The NHERI network provides researchers in the natural hazards engineering and social science communities with state-of-the-art laboratories, data, and training needed to meet the research challenges of the 21st century. NHERI is supported by multiple grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation.