The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Standards Council has approved the development of a unified cold-formed steel seismic design standard that will create a new standard: AISI S400, North American Standard for Seismic Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Systems. This new standard will provide a platform for the growth of new cold-formed steel seismic force-resisting systems. It will be developed and maintained by the AISI Committee on Framing Standards’ (COFS) Lateral Design Subcommittee. The development of the standard was approved by the AISI Standards Council on March 14, 2013.
AISI currently maintains two standards that address the seismic design of cold-formed steel assemblies: AISI S213, North American Standard for Cold-Formed Steel Framing – Lateral Design, which addresses the design and installation of cold-formed steel light-framed shear walls, diagonal strap bracing (that is part of a structural wall) and diaphragms to resist wind, seismic and other
in-plane lateral loads; and AISI S110, Standard for Seismic Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Systems -Special Bolted Moment Frames. These two standards are maintained under separate
committees, which has complicated the development and approval process and created confusion for users. The new AISI S400 standard will include all of AISI S110 and just the high seismic
portions of AISI S213. The remaining portions of AISI S213 will be included in the new AISI S240, North American Standard for Cold-Formed Steel Structural Framing.
These changes also facilitate the consolidation of the AISI Committee on Specifications’ (COS) Seismic Design Subcommittee into the AISI Committee on Framing Standards’ (COFS) Lateral
Design Subcommittee.