Experimental and Numerical Analysis on Light-Frame Timber Shear-Walls Coupled with Self-Centering Steel Cables

Reducing residual deformations after seismic events, especially when significant aftershocks follow the mainshock, is essential to preserve the seismic capacity of a building. In Light-Frame Timber (LFT) shear-walls, the yielding of sheathing-to-framing connections typically enables high ductility and dissipative properties, but self-centering capacity is penalized. With the aim of improving the lateral seismic resistance of mid-rise timber buildings, the behaviour of an innovative LFT shear-wall coupled with self-centering steel cables was investigated in this study. One monotonic and two cyclic tests were performed on a full-scale LFT shear-wall (2.5 m × 2.5 m) sheathed with Oriented Strand Board (OSB) panels and coupled with self-centering steel cables. A bare full-scale shear-wall was also experimentally tested under cyclic in-plane horizontal actions. The experimental results were used to validate a Finite Element (FE) numerical model of the system, by taking advantage of additional tests performed on single components (i.e., nailed sheathing-to-framing connections and steel cables) for the calibration of input parameters. Parametric numerical analyses are discussed in the paper, emphasizing the effect and role of most important influencing parameters. The steel cables provided a considerable improvement in terms of lateral seismic resistance and self-centering capacity. However, cable’s pre-tension had a limited influence on the resistance and on the self-centering capacity.