Material Characterization of Traditional Assam-Type Wooden Houses in Northeastern India
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 32, Issue 12
Abstract
Traditional Assam-type wooden houses are a popular housing system in the northeastern Himalayan region of India. Such houses have performed exceptionally well in previous earthquakes. An experimental study on the frames of Assam-type houses has affirmed its excellent performance, which is attributed to its flexible timber members and joints, unique infill-frame connection, and light-weight structure. It is important to evaluate experimentally the physical and mechanical properties of various elements used in the construction of such houses to gain an insight into their lateral load behavior. First, the properties of the Sal (Shorea robusta) and Jam (Syzygium cumini) timber species, commonly used as framing elements in Assam-type houses, were evaluated experimentally. The compression strength and tensile strength were determined in both parallel and perpendicular to grain directions followed by determination of bending strength. The timber specimens exhibited significantly different characteristics in two loading directions. The lateral load behavior of Ikra wall panels used in Assam-type houses was then evaluated by diagonal compression testing. The results obtained from the testing of materials indicate that Ikra panels will be helpful in developing and calibrating the numerical models for predicting the seismic response of traditional Assam-type houses as well as timber-framed structures. Finally, based on regression analysis, simple empirical equations are developed to predict the lateral strength of frames of Assam-type houses.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. List of available data: recorded load-displacement data and stress-strain data. No model or code was used in the study.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the financial assistance provided by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), and a research grant (DST/TSG/STS/2012/65-G) provided by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
References
Ali, Q., T. Schacher, M. Ashraf, B. Alam, A. Naeem, N. Ahmad, and M. Umar. 2012. “In-plane behavior of the dhajji-dewari structural system (wooden braced frame with masonry infill).” Earthquake Spectra 28 (3): 835–858. https://doi.org/10.1193/1.4000051.
Ardalany, M., B. Deam, M. Fragiacomo, and K. Crews. 2011. “Tension perpendicular to grain strength of wood, Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) and cross banded LVL (LVL-C).” In Proc., 21st Australian Conf. on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, 891–896. London: Taylor & Francis Group.
ASTM. 2010. Standard test method for diagonal tension (shear) in masonry assemblages. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2014. Standard test methods for small clear specimens of timber. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Aydin, S., M. Y. Yardimci, and K. Ramyar. 2007. “Mechanical properties of four timber species commonly used in Turkey.” Turkish J. Eng. Environ. Sci. 31 (1): 19–27.
Barrett, J. D. 1974. “Effect of size on tension perpendicular-to-grain strength of Douglas-fir.” Wood Fiber Sci. 6 (2): 126–143.
Basha, S. H., and H. B. Kaushik. 2015. “Evaluation of nonlinear material properties of fly ash brick masonry under compression and shear.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 27 (8): 04014227. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0001188.
Basha, S. H., and H. B. Kaushik. 2016. “Suitability of fly ash brick masonry as infill in reinforced concrete frames.” Mater. Struct. 49 (9): 3831–3845. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-015-0757-5.
BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards). 1986. Methods of testing of small clear specimens of timber (Second Revision). New Delhi, India: BIS.
Chand, B., H. B. Kaushik, and S. Das. 2019. “Lateral load behavior of traditional Assam-type wooden house.” J. Struct. Eng. 145 (8): 04019072. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0002359.
Dinwoodie, J. M. 2001. Construction materials-their nature and behavior. London: Spon Press.
Jain, S. K. 2016. “Earthquake safety in India: Achievements, challenges, and opportunities.” Bull. Earthquake Eng. 14 (5): 1337–1436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-016-9870-2.
Kaushik, H. B., and K. S. R. Babu. 2009. Housing report Assam-type house. Oakland, CA: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.
Kaushik, H. B., and K. Dasgupta. 2013. “Assessment of seismic vulnerability of structures in Sikkim, India, based on damage observation during two recent earthquakes.” J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 27 (6): 697–720. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000380.
Kaushik, H. B., K. Dasgupta, D. R. Sahoo, and G. Kharel. 2006. “Performance of structures during the Sikkim earthquake of 14 February 2006.” Current Sci. 91 (4): 449–455.
Kaushik, H. B., and S. K. Jain. 2007. “Impact of great December 26, 2004 Sumatra earthquake and tsunami on structures in Port Blair.” J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 21 (2): 128–142. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0887-3828(2007)21:2(128).
Kaushik, H. B., D. C. Rai, and S. K. Jain. 2007. “Stress-strain characteristics of clay brick masonry under uniaxial compression.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 19 (9): 728–739. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561(2007)19:9(728).
Markwardt, L., and W. Youngquist. 1957. “Tension test methods for wood, wood-base materials, and sandwich constructions.” In Proc., Symp. on Tension Testing of Non-Metallic Materials. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Widehammar S. 2004. “Stress-strain relationships for spruce wood: influence of strain rate, moisture content and loading direction.” Soc. Exp. Mech. 44 (1): 44–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02427975.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 16, 2019
Accepted: Jun 12, 2020
Published online: Sep 26, 2020
Published in print: Dec 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Feb 26, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.