Experiments on the Effects of Power Actuated Fasteners on the Strength of Open Web Steel Joists

A series of 10 full scale tests were conducted on roof subassemblages consisting of open web steel joists and roof deck. In these specimens the roof deck was fastened to the joists by using either 5/8-in. diameter puddle welds or by using power-actuated fasteners (PAFs). PAFs are small high strength nails pneumatically or powder driven through the roof deck into the joist top chord angles. In these tests, the joists and roof deck were loaded to failure under downward acting vertical loads. The purpose of these tests was to determine if the presence of the PAFs produced any detrimental effects on the gravity load capacity of a joist roof system. The test results showed essentially identical performance for specimens using puddle welds as for specimens using PAFs. The PAFs produced no detrimental effects on the load capacity of the joists in these tests.