Ankeeta Karmakar: Full-scale experimental tests of Australasian lightweight steel mid-rise residential buildings under vertical and earthquake loads

<p dir="ltr">The New Zealand construction industry prefers a modular construction method where the flooring system is lifted on-site and placed on top of the bottom storey wall. Similarly, the top storey wall is lifted and placed on top of the flooring system. There has been a research gap to understand the whole building performance of Australasian lightweight steel under vertical and earthquake loads of this construction method. To develop the multi-storey building configuration, extensive detailing and modelling have been done in the past thirty months of the PhD study. Finally, the 3D CAD model saw the light of day in the Structure Testing Laboratory’s space in the Newmarket Campus. The vertical and earthquake loading response of the six-metre-high two-storey wall-floor-wall system will represent the top storeys of a six-storey real building. The first test of the six scheduled tests done on 16th September 2025 showed an enhanced performance of this system.</p>