Performance of Light-Frame Wood Residential Construction Subjected to Earthquakes in Regions of Moderate Seismicity

Abstract

The majority of single-family dwellings in the United States are light-frame wood construction. Residential construction practices have evolved gradually over the years, most light-frame wood structures have not been structurally engineered, and many residential buildings suffered significant damage in recent hurricane and earthquake disasters. As a result, new concepts and methodologies are evolving to better predict and evaluate the performance of wood frame structures exposed to natural hazards and to support improved residential building practices. This paper examines the behavior of typical light-frame wood structural systems in the central and eastern United States under earthquake hazards. Nonlinear structural analysis tools and stochastic methods are used to model the uncertainties in ground motion intensity and structural response. Fragility curves defining damage state probabilities as a function of ground motion intensity are developed for typical lateral force-resisting shear wall systems subjected to increasing levels of ground motion. A comparison of these fragilities with those embedded in HAZUS provides additional perspective on damage potential for residential construction in regions of low-to-moderate seismicity.