Analysis of timber log-house construction system via experimental testing and analytical modelling

Numerical Investigation of the in-Plane Seismic Performance of Timber Log-Haus Walls With Reinforced Dovetails

“…Figures 1(b) and (c)), both in compression and in tension, according to a common testing protocol. Major outcomes of the full experimental study can be found in [7][8][9]. The typical specimen, representative of a small portion of log-haus wall, basically consisted of 4 timber logs, C24 the resistance class of spruce [11], with b=90 × h=160mm the nominal cross section and 500mm their length (Figure 2(a)).…”

“…The typical specimen, representative of a small portion of log-haus wall, basically consisted of 4 timber logs, C24 the resistance class of spruce [11], with b=90 × h=160mm the nominal cross section and 500mm their length (Figure 2(a)). Figure 2: Reference experimental tests, with evidence of (a) typical small-scale specimen, (b)(c) steel dovetail reinforcements for S01 and S02 specimens, with (d) overview of the test setup [7,8].…”

“…Taking advantage of small scale experimental results presented in [7,8], a Finite Element numerical investigation was carried out in ABAQUS [10], aiming to assess the monotonic performance of dovetail reinforced specimens.…”

“…In addition, especially under specific boundary and loading conditions, the actual seismic behaviour and vulnerability of timber log-haus systems still requires detailed investigations, aimed to assess the effects deriving from the interaction of several aspects, such as friction phenomena, nonlinear behaviour of the typical joints under cyclic loads, etc. In the last years, some research studies have been focused on the seismic performance of log-haus systems, both at a component or at a full-scale and assembly level (see [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]). As a general outcome, it was pointed out that as far as no mechanical fasteners are used between the timber logs, the resistance of such systems is mainly given by contact interactions and friction mechanisms, in which production tolerances, possible gaps or initial geometrical imperfections can have a key role in their actual response.…”

“…As a general outcome, it was pointed out that as far as no mechanical fasteners are used between the timber logs, the resistance of such systems is mainly given by contact interactions and friction mechanisms, in which production tolerances, possible gaps or initial geometrical imperfections can have a key role in their actual response. In this paper, taking advantage of earlier experimental studies [7][8][9], the attention is focused on the assessment of the seismic performance of steel-reinforced log-haus walls. In them, a cold formed metal dovetail is introduced within the thickness of the wall, aiming to improve the interlocking between adjacent logs and to improve their stiffness and resistance under in-plane seismic loads.…”