Dipl.-Ing G. Krüger - Knauf Gips KG, Iphofen, Germany

Basic requirements of seismic design are to save lives of inhabitants and preserve damages of buildings. Non-loadbearing elements have an influence on the vibrational behaviour of buildings according to their weight and stiffness. The advantages served by drywalling systems like partitions and suspended ceilings are their being light in terms of weight and ductility. The stiffness/ ductility depends on constructions and connections to loadbearing structures of buildings. Light weight partitions guarantee better escape ways and are fail-safer in comparison to non-loadbearing massive walls. In some cases, undamaged non-loadbearing elements are a premise for the maintenance of the use of a building, as in hospitals and operating rooms. Accordingly, how to design partitions and suspended ceilings will be discussed and the details of constructions and connections will be shown throughout.

Drywall systems, non-loadbearing partitions, suspended ceilings, shearwalls