Simplified Mechanistic Model for Seismic Response Prediction of Coupled Cross-Laminated Timber Rocking Walls

Abstract

A simplified mechanistic model is developed in this study to predict the lateral load resistance of coupled rocking walls made from cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels as an alternative to finite-element modeling. The model is derived in an incremental format in order to capture the nonlinear behavior of the rocking wall, including crushing of the corners and inelastic response of interpanel connectors. The backbone curve and limit states generated using the proposed model are verified through a detailed finite-element model. Following the validation of the backbone curve, a spectrum-based maximum displacement prediction method is proposed for the rocking wall system under an arbitrary earthquake input. This simplified prediction method is validated using full-scale shake table test data of a two-story wood building with coupled CLT rocking walls. The model and the dynamic response prediction approach are found to be reasonably accurate for preliminary seismic design and evaluation of CLT rocking wall systems, so that detailed finite-element modeling and nonlinear time history analysis may not be necessary.