Bo Kasal

Performance and Drift Levels of Tall Timber Frame Buildings under Seismic and Wind Loads

This paper discusses the potential for use of multi-story timber frames when subjected to earthquake and wind loadings. With the advent of new technologies and materials, such as laminating and composite-fibre reinforcement, the performance of tall spatial timber frames can be significantly enhanced. Two issues are of concern when designing tall timber frames: flexibility that translates into relatively large drifts and non-linearity that represents uncertainty in estimating fundamental periods. This article focuses on the potentials and limitations in designing tall timber frames from serviceability and safety points of view.

Whole Building Testing and Modeling for Improved Design of Light- Frame Buildings

Simplifying assumptions in the analysis and design of light-frame wood buildings can result in either uneconomical or unsafe structures. This paper describes the development of improved tools for performance analysis of light-frame buildings under wind and earthquake loads that can be used to improve current design procedures. We present herein the details and preliminary test results of a full-scale one-story house tested under static cyclic loading. The irregularly shaped house is being used to experimentally validate a three-dimensional Finite Element (FE) model of the house. Once validated, the whole building FE model will be used to develop improved design procedures that take into account systems behavior. Sample analysis results are presented.