A Simplified Method to Assess the Technical Feasibility of Multistory Wood-Frame Buildings with Shear Walls

Abstract

Wooden structures provide an optimistic answer towards lowering the environmental footprint of the construction industry. When timber buildings are designed in high seismic zones, wood-frame shear walls are a common lateral resistant system for low- and mid-rise structures. However, for practitioners and engineers unfamiliar with seismic analysis methods for wood-frame structures, estimation of the systems viability can be complex and time-consuming. Therefore, this investigation presents a novel methodology to determine at early design phases the technical feasibility of wood-frame structures in highly seismic zones, so-called Simplified Tool for Technical Pre-feasibility or STTP. The methodology was developed by analyzing a comprehensive database of 201 wood-frame buildings designed with different seismic performance factors, architectural configurations, number of storeys, soil conditions, and anchorage systems. By employing input data readily available at the initial stages of structural projects, the proposed methodology verifies the viability of employing wood frame shear walls as the lateral resistant system of the structure, and provides additional valuable information such as fundamental periods and wall predesigns. Besides, global stiffness and inter-story deformations can be estimated with an error less than 10%. In this way, accurate feedback can be promptly obtained by employing a minimum amount of resources.