Study on Integral Performance of a Modern Low-Rise Light-Wood Frame Structure Building

Abstract eng:
Light-wood frame structure system came into being in North America in middle period of 19th century and has a history of more than one hundred years. At present light-wood frame structure system is widespread in many countries and already became an important structure system. So far, researches on the structure system mainly focus on computing and testing of structure members, and study on the integral performance including seismic performance and shear performance is comparatively few. For the integral structure, modes, story drifts, internal forces of the members under the loads such as seismic loads are important and necessary which can only be obtained through integral analysis of the whole structure instead of computing and testing of a single member. In the paper finite element analysis of integral performance of a modern low-rise light-wood frame structure building in Beijing is carried out using finite element software based on the design criteria in China. Then the modes of the structure are solved by modal analysis and internal forces and deformations in appointed load cases which are the combinations of loads including seismic loads are also solved. Further, seismic performance and shear performance of the structure are analyzed. The load case results show the internal forces and displacements of the structure meet the requirements of design criteria in China and the structural safety margin is ample. It indicates the design of the frames has an appropriate security. Modal analysis results show the structure has a good integrity and potential weak positions of the structure can also be found. The light-wood frame structure system has a good seismic performance because of its light weight and big damping ratio. The results of the paper validate the viewpoint sufficiently. Contours of shear forces of the wall in wind loads and seismic loads are also given in the paper. The results indicate the structural methods of interior walls can meet the requirements of shear resistance, while shear forces of partial exterior walls exceed the design strength of shear resistance. So construction methods such as using thicker wallboards or adding steel members should be adopted to strengthen the positions.

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