Estimating Deflections of Unblocked Wood Shear Walls

Abstract eng:
Wood is the most environmentally friendly building material. Shear walls play an important role in the wind and seismic resistance of low-rise wood-frame constructions. Current wood design codes provide design values for shear walls sheathed with wood-based panels oriented either vertically or horizontally with framing blocking. However, it is quite common to use shear walls without blockings for savings in construction time and material costs despite their lower lateral resistance compared with blocked shear walls. Design provisions for unblocked shear walls are limited and it is necessary to study their behaviors and get a better understanding of their responses to applied lateral loads. Estimation of deflections is an important part of building design when the object is to limit earthquake or wind damage. However, while some building codes (e.g. Uniform Building Code) provide methods for estimating blocked shear wall deflections, these methods are not adequate for unblocked shear walls. In this paper, a formula based on a relatively simple mechanical model is presented which can be used to estimate deflections for unblocked shear walls. And it gives values which compare well with test results till moderate load levels.

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