Overacker, Scott2020-02-262020-02-262019-12https://hdl.handle.net/11299/211710University of Minnesota M.S. thesis.December 2019. Major: Civil Engineering. Advisor: Arturo Schultz. 1 computer file (PDF); 306 pages.Power-actuated fasteners (PAFs) securing the cold-formed steel track to concrete slab connection in non-structural partition walls are a critical failure point in buildings in low to high seismic regions. Concrete composition is hypothesized to have a major effect on the performance of PAFs; however, guidelines currently available in the United States for the evaluation of PAF performance in concrete do not include clear specifications on concrete mixes or aggregates. Testing and evaluation criteria for seismic applications is also not available. The focus of this thesis is on the dependency of PAF performance, in terms of capacity, embedment, stiffness, and shank bending, with respect to concrete coarse aggregate properties. A survey of concrete aggregates across a wide range of locations in the United States and Canada was conducted, and a classification system with recommended parameters for defining the toughness of concrete coarse aggregates was proposed. A loading device and methods for testing the out-of-plane behavior of groups of fasteners in cold-formed steel tracks under shear loading were developed, and several combinations of fasteners and concrete aggregates were tested. Results of the out-of-plane track shear tests were compared to shear tests of single fasteners installed into the same concrete mixes. The detriment of increased aggregate toughness on stick rate, embedment, and bending of the fastener shanks was noted. Additionally, an inverse relationship between coarse aggregate toughness and fastener capacity, as well as a strong group effect that reduced variability and increased capacities per fastener, was observed.enConcrete coarse aggregateOut-of-planePartition wallPowder-actuatedPower-actuated fastener (PAF)ToughnessThesis or Dissertation