Advanced Wood-Based Solutions for Mid-Rise and High-Rise Construction: Structural Performance of Post-Tensioned CLT Shear Walls with Energy Dissipators
The latest developments in seismic design philosophy have been geared towards developing of so called "resilient" or "low damage" innovative structural systems that can reduce damage to the structure while offering the same or higher levels of safety to occupants. One such innovative structural system is the Pres-Lam system that is a wood-hybrid system that utilizes post-tensioned (PT) mass timber components in both rigid-frame and wall-based buildings along with various types of energy disspators. To help implement the Pres-Lam system in Canada and the US, information about the system performance made with North American engineered wood products is needed. That information can later be used to develop design guidelines for the designers for wider acceptance of the system by the design community.Several components influence the performance of the Pres-Lam systems: the load-deformation properties of the engineered wood products under compression, load-deformation and energy dissipation properties of the dissipators used, placement of the dissipators in the system, and the level of post-tensioning force. The influence of all these components on the performance of Pres-Lam wall systems under gravity and lateral loads was investigated in this research project. The research project consisted of two main parts: material tests and system tests.
In response to the global drive towards sustainable construction, CLT has emerged as a competitive alternative to other construction materials. CLT buildings taller than 10-storeys and CLT buildings in regions of moderate to high seismicity would be subject to higher lateral loads due to wind and earthquakes than CLT buildings which have already been completed. The lack of structural design codes and limited literature regarding the performance of CLT buildings under lateral loading are barriers to the adoption of CLT for buildings which could experience high lateral loading. Previous research into the behaviour of CLT buildings under lateral loading has involved testing of building components. These studies have generally been limited to testing wall systems and connections which replicate configurations at ground floor storeys in buildings no taller than three storeys. Consequently, to develop the understanding of the performance of multi-storey CLT buildings under lateral loading, the performance of wall systems and connections which replicate conditions of those in above ground floor storeys in buildings taller than three storeys were experimentally investigated. The testing of typical CLT connections involved testing eighteen configurations under cyclic loading in shear and tension. The results of this experimental investigation highlighted the need for capacity-based design of CLT connections to prevent brittle failure. It was found that both hold down and angle bracket connections have strength and stiffness in shear and tension and by considering the strength of the connections in both directions, more economical design of CLT buildings could be achieved. The testing of CLT wall systems involved testing three CLT wall systems with identical configurations under monotonic lateral load and constant vertical load, with vertical loads replicating gravity loads at storeys within a 10-storey CLT building. The results show that vertical load has a significant influence on wall system behaviour; varying the vertical load was found to vary the contribution of deformation mechanisms to global behaviour within the elastic region, reinforcing the need to consider connection design at each individual storey. As there are still no structural design codes for CLT buildings, the accuracy of analytical methods presented within the literature for predicting the behaviour of CLT connections and wall systems under lateral loading was assessed. It was found that the analytical methods for both connections and wall systems are highly inaccurate and do not reflect experimentally observed behaviour.
To support the associated Sir Matthew Begbie Elementary School and Bayview Elementary School projects in pushing the boundaries forward for long-span floor and roof construction, this testing project aims to compare different connection approaches for composite connections between glulam and cross-laminated timber (CLT) – for vibration, stiffness, and strength. Working with the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), Fast + Epp aimed to complete a series of vibration and monotonic load tests on 30’ long full-scale double-T ribbed panels. The tests consisted of screws in withdrawal, screws in shear, and nominal screws clamping with glue. Both the strength and stiffness are of interest, including slip stiffness of each connection type. This physical testing was completed in January and February 2020, where the full composite strength of each system was reached. Initial data analysis has provided information for comparison with existing models for shear connection stiffness. Publications will follow in 2021.
The focus of this research is the connection between steel frame and the infill wall. Over 100 conventional bracket-type connections with various combinations of bracket and fasteners with cross-laminated timber were tested, investigated and assessed for damage under seismic loading protocols for a hybrid application. An energy-based formulation according to Krätzig was applied to calculate the development of the damage index, and the resulting index was validated with visual observation. Six of the connections were modeled in OpenSees. For the modeling, a CUREE-10 parameter model was chosen to reproduce the test curves. The load-displacement results from both test and model were analyzed; the first method according to ASTM standards, where the envelope curve of the hysteretic results are considered and plotted in an equivalent energy elastic-plastic curve (EEEP). The second analyzing method used, was Krätzig’s damage accumulation model. Throughout all six combinations and both loading directions (parallel- and perpendicular-to-the-grain) a major difference was found in the analyzing methods. The EEEP curve roughly approximates the performance but with the damage accumulation method showed that analysis of the subsequent cycles is required to better reflect the empirical performance of the connections. To avoid the extensive destruction of a bracket type connection after completion of seismic loadings, a new approach was chosen. It was found that a tube connection can obtain comparably similar strength results as a conventional bracket connection. The computed mechanical properties of bracket-type and tube-type connections were compared and evaluated. The new tube connection showed great potential for future timber-steel hybrid structures and their connecting challenge. A total of 27 connection assemblies were tested under quasi-static monotonic and reversed cyclic loads. The tube connections showed two major differences when compared to traditional bracket connections: i) the completely linear elastic behaviour at the beginning, and ii) the continued load increase after yielding. Both phenomena are founded in the geometry of that connector effectively making the novel connector a very promising alternative.
This paper presents an experimental study on ductility and overstrength of dowelled connections. Connection ductility and overstrength derived from monotonic testing are often used in timber connection design in the context of seismic loading, based on the assumption that these properties are similar under monotonic and cyclic loading. This assumption could possibly lead to non-conservative connection design. Therefore, it is necessary to quantify ductility and overstrength for cyclic loading and contrast them with their monotonic performance. For this purpose, monotonic and quasi-static cyclic experimental tests were performed on dowelled LVL and CLT connections. The experimental results were also compared with strength predictions from state-of-the-art analytical models in literature that were verified for ductile and brittle failure under monotonic loading. This work also allowed investigation into a generally applicable overstrength factor for push-pull loaded dowelled connections.
The goals of this research are to gain a better understanding of the mechanics of timber moment-frame connections during two different fire scenarios: fire and post-earthquake fire. This research will develop the testing methodologies and benchmark data required to develop designs for the fire and post-earthquake performance of timber moment-resisting frame connections.
The project wIll test two moment resisting frame connections under fire and post-earthquake fire loading scenarios.
Full scale monotonic and cyclic loading tests on sub-assemblies for both connection types at the Emmerson lab.
Fire testing of structurally tested and un-tested specimens at the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada. These tests will occur under service loading conditions and will measure temperature gradients through the cross section of the connection, as well as displacements between the beam and column and residual cross section dimensions.
Data will be used to benchmark numerical models in order to perfom a parametric study that allows for varying of geometric parameters such as connection geometry and fastener configurations.
The structural use of wood in North America is dominated by light wood-frame construction used in low-rise and – more recently – mid-rise residential buildings. Mass timber engineered wood products such as laminatedveneer-lumber and cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels enable to use the material in tall and large wood and woodbased hybrid buildings. The prospect of constructing taller buildings creates challenges, one of them being the increasein lateral forces created by winds and earthquakes, thus requiring stronger hold-down devices. This paper summarises the experimental investigation on the performance a high-capacity hold-down for resisting seismic loads in tall timberbased structural systems. The connection consists of the Holz-Stahl-Komposit-System (HSK)™ glued into CLT with the modification that ductile steel yielding was allowed to occur inside the CLT panel. The strength, stiffness, ductility and failure mechanisms of this connection were evaluated under quasi-static monotonic and reversed cyclic loading. The results demonstrate that the modified hold-down-assembly provides a possible solution for use in tall timber-based structures in high seismic zones
Cross laminated timber (CLT) connections in shearwalls require an understanding of the shear strength and stiffness of panel-to-panel connections within the wall. This research measures the strength and stiffness of three different panel-to-panel CLT connections considering both monotonic and cyclic loading. Connections included a laminated veneer lumber (LVL) spline, a half-lap connection and a butt joint with overlapping steel plate. All connections were ductile in nature. The butt joint with steel plate demonstrated the highest connection strength of the connections tested. The cyclic stiffness of the laminated veneer lumber spline was less than the monotonic stiffness, while the halflap joint experienced a sharp drop in load after ultimate load was achieved. Full details of the monotonic and cyclic behaviour will be discussed, including load, stiffness and ductility terms.
