Performance of a Woodframe Structure during Full-Scale Shake-Table Tests: Drift, Damage, and Effect of Partition Wall

Abstract

The dynamic performance of a woodframe structure is examined through the qualitative correlation between the transient interstory drift and the observed damage following a series of full-scale shake-table tests. The structure was subjected to simulated Northridge earthquake ground motions scaled to seismic hazard levels of 50, 10, 2, and 1% exceedance in 50 years. Added mass was used in an effort to examine the qualitative correlation of the observed performance with the performance tabulated in FEMA 2000. The structure was repaired to the extent possible between each test. The structure was tested at three different structural/nonstructural stages: (1) oriented strand board (OSB) only; (2) gypsum wall board (GWB) and OSB; and (3) OSB, GWB, and a nonstructural interior partition wall, in order to determine the effect of each component and to qualitatively determine its effect on overall damage to the system. It was determined that qualitative damage descriptions were not significantly different from those given in FEMA 2000. It was also found that the percent torsion increased with increasing peak ground acceleration. The effect of GWB on structural response and damage was as expected, but the partition wall behaved differently than expected. Specifically, the partition wall sustained very little damage even though it had full load transfer at the top plate.