Placing an insulation layer between sheathing and lumber framing members reduces thermal bridging in light wood-frame wall construction. However, this soft intermediate insulation layer compromises the lateral resistance and stiffness of the wall due to its relatively low mechanical properties. An experimental study on full-scale shear walls was conducted to investigate the influence of intermediate insulation on the lateral resistance and deflection of light wood-frame walls. Finite element analysis was used for all test specimens and the results were compared to the test data and responses predicted using the mechanics-based design equations provided by the Canadian timber design standard. Results show that an intermediate insulation layer has a significant impact on the lateral resistance and stiffness of light wood-frame walls. Furthermore, it was shown that the lateral strength of such wall assemblages can be predicted with sufficient accuracy based on the strength of its nailed joints using the code simplified design equation, provided that the insulation thickness is not greater than 51 mm. It was also noted that the predicted load-displacement responses using the equation from the Canadian timber design standard are comparable to the predicted responses obtained from the finite element analysis.

在护套和木材框架构件之间放置绝缘层可减少轻型木结构墙体结构中的热桥现象。然而，由于其相对较低的机械性能，该柔软的中间绝缘层损害了壁的侧向阻力和刚度。进行了全尺寸剪力墙的实验研究，以研究中间绝缘层对轻木结构墙体的侧向阻力和挠度的影响。对所有试样均使用有限元分析，并将结果与​​测试数据进行比较，并使用加拿大木材设计标准提供的基于力学的设计方程式预测响应。结果表明，中间绝缘层对轻木结构墙的侧向阻力和刚度具有重要影响。此外，结果表明，只要绝缘层厚度不大于51 mm，就可以使用简化的设计公式，根据其钉接处的强度，以足够的精度预测此类墙体的侧向强度。还应注意的是，使用加拿大木材设计标准的方程式预测的载荷-位移响应与从有限元分析中获得的预测响应是可比的。