Load Distribution in Light-Frame Wood Buildings under Experimentally Simulated Tsunami Loads

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a test program whose goal was to better understand the contribution of individual elements to the performance of typical light-frame wood structures during tsunami loading. The intent was to be able to replicate failures in a structural engineering laboratory that were observed during laboratory experiments of hydraulic loading on wood walls at the NEES Tsunami Facility at Oregon State University. The elastic and inelastic response of shear walls, out-of-plane walls, and a full light-frame wood structural system subjected to varying lateral loads were observed using digital image correlation (DIC). The DIC provided a noncontact, three-dimensional measurement system that returned displacement results measured at multiple areas of interest on the wall surface. Overall, these experiments show that the elastic stiffness and ultimate capacity of the shear wall is significantly higher at full height than intermediate heights on the wall, and the ultimate lateral capacity was higher than a full structural system. The results indicate that the out-of-plane wall behaves like a one-way slab with limited contribution from adjacent studs in carrying load. The stud to bottom plate connection failures observed during the wave tank tests were successfully reproduced and indicate that the nailed connection needs to be reinforced to utilize the available capacity of the individual framing members.