The Structural Insulated Panel Association announced that it will sponsor aspect ratio testing on shear walls built with SIPs. Funded by both SIPA and the USDAForest Products Laboratory, the testing aims to determine the allowable wall height to width ratio (aspect ratio) for SIP shear walls in high wind or seismic regions.
Currently, design professionals and engineers working with SIP shear walls in commercial buildings are limited to the testing data available from individual SIP manufacturers. Although SIP walls are given structural equivalency to wood frame walls for residential buildings in the International Residential Code, there is no mention of SIP shear walls in the International Building Code for nonresidential buildings.