The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (January 23, 2007)Includes bibliographical references.Thesis (M.S.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2005.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Civil engineering.[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Due to the threat of terrorist attacks, a series of tests has been conducted, on different forced entry wall configurations, to determine the static resistant function of outboard steel stud walls. Outboard walls are composed of steel studs which are covered externally by steel plates and a veneer. The interior portion of the wall will be covered by sureguard, a material composed of 20 gage steel sheathing and drywall. The wall connections are idealized as a pin on top and a roller on bottom. This thesis will discuss the experimental setup, static test results and dynamic field verification. The experimental results will be compared to an analytical model and also input into the Steel Stud Wall Analysis Code (SSWAC) computer program. The results of the experimental testing used in the development of SSWAC have shown great promise in predicting the behavior of an outboard wall systems subjected to blast loads