Performance of Beam-Column Connections with Mass Ply Lam and Steel Dowels under Cyclic Loads
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 6
Abstract
A mass timber lateral force resisting system (LFRS) is proposed using a mass timber buckling restrained brace (TBRB) to improve the seismic resilience of mass timber buildings. To develop a resilient braced frame, it is essential to understand and quantify the behavior of the connections, including the possible failure modes and moment-rotation capacities. Cyclic and monotonic tests were conducted on six mass timber beam-column connections to study the response of a mass timber joint connected with slotted-in steel plates and mild steel dowels. The primary goal of the subassembly tests was to measure the maximum rotation, stiffness, ductility, and failure modes of such connections for both monotonic and cyclic loads. The tests showed that the connections with three steel dowel details reached a maximum rotation of 0.11 radians (6.3 degrees) with no loss of strength. In addition, a numerical model was developed to represent the moment-rotation relationship of the mass timber beam-column connections.
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 supports the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by Wood Innovations under USDA Grant 20-DG-11046000-615. The authors also acknowledge the donation of materials by Freres Lumber Co., and the in-kind assistance provided by the Timberlab. The authors acknowledge the assistance of M. Bryant, D. Tran, I. Dangol, D. Briggs, S. Neupane, and S. Shrestha of the University of Utah for their assistance in carrying out the experiments.
References
AISC. 2016. Seismic provisions for structural steel buildings. ANSI/AISC 341-16. Chicago: AISC.
APA (Engineered Wood Association). 2021. Freres mass ply panels (MPP), and mass ply lam (MPL) beams and columns. Tacoma, WA: APA—The Engineered Wood Association.
ASCE. 2016. Minimum design loads and associated criteria for buildings and other structures. ASCE 7-16. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Astaneh-Asl, A. 2005. Design of shear tab connections for gravity and seismic loads. Moraga, CA: Structural Steel Education Council.
ASTM. 2011. Standard test methods for cyclic (reversed) load test for shear resistance of vertical elements of the lateral force resisting system for buildings. ASTM E2126. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2019. Standard specification for evaluation of structural composite lumber products. ASTM D5456. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
AWC (American Wood Council). 2018a. General dowel equations for calculating lateral connection values with Appendix A. Leesburg, VA: AWC.
AWC (American Wood Council). 2018b. National design specification for wood construction. Leesburg, VA: AWC.
Black, C. J., N. Makris, and I. D. Aiken. 2004. “Component testing, seismic evaluation and characterization of buckling-restrained braces.” J. Struct. Eng. 130 (6): 880–894. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9445(2004)130:6(880).
Blaß, H. J., and P. Schädle. 2011. “Ductility aspects of reinforced and non-reinforced timber joints.” Eng. Struct. 33 (11): 3018–3026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2011.02.001.
Blomgren H.-E., J.-P. Koppitz, A. D. Valdes, and E. Ko. 2016. “The heavy timber buckling-restrained brace frame as a solution for commercial buildings in regions of high seismicity.” In Proc., World Conf. on Timber Engineering. Vienna, Austria: Institute for Mechanics of Materials and Structures.
Bouchaïr, A., P. Racher, and J. F. Bocquet. 2007. “Analysis of dowelled timber to timber moment-resisting joints.” Mater. Struct. 40 (10): 1127–1141. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-006-9210-0.
Cao, J., H. Xiong, and Y. Cui. 2022. “Seismic performance analysis of timber frames based on a calibrated simplified model.” J. Build. Eng. 46 (Apr): 103701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103701.
Daneshvar, H., J. Niederwestberg, J.-P. Letarte, and Y. H. Chui. 2022. “Yield mechanisms of base shear connections for cross-laminated timber shear walls.” Constr. Build. Mater. 335 (Jun): 127498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.127498.
Dong, W., M. Li, M. He, and Z. Li. 2021. “Experimental testing and analytical modeling of glulam moment connections with self-drilling dowels.” J. Struct. Eng. 147 (5): 04021047. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0002977.
Dong, W., M. Li, C.-L. Lee, G. MacRae, and A. Abu. 2020. “Experimental testing of full-scale glulam frames with buckling restrained braces.” Eng. Struct. 222 (Nov): 111081. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2020.111081.
Dorn, M., K. de Borst, and J. Eberhardsteiner. 2013. “Experiments on dowel-type timber connections.” Eng. Struct. 47 (Feb): 67–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2012.09.010.
Fahnestock, L. A., R. Sause, and J. M. Ricles. 2007. “Seismic response and performance of buckling-restrained braced frames.” J. Struct. Eng. 133 (9): 1195–1204. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9445(2007)133:9(1195).
Fan, X., S. Zhang, and W. Qu. 2011. “Load-carrying behaviour of dowel-type timber connections with multiple slotted-in steel plates.” Appl. Mech. Mater. 94–96 (8): 43–47. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.94-96.43.
FPL (Forest Products Laboratory). 2010. Wood handbook—Wood as an engineering material. Madison, WI: FPL.
Fragiacomo, M., and M. Batchelar. 2012. “Timber frame moment joints with glued-in steel rods. I: Design.” J. Struct. Eng. 138 (6): 789–801. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0000419.
Geiser, M., M. Bergmann, and M. Follesa. 2021. “Influence of steel properties on the ductility of doweled timber connections.” Constr. Build. Mater. 226 (Jan): 121152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.121152.
Hashemi, A., H. Bagheri, S. M. M. Yousef-Beik, F. M. Darani, A. Valadbeigi, P. Zarnani, and P. Quenneville. 2020. “Enhanced seismic performance of timber structures using resilient connections: Full-scale testing and design procedure.” J. Struct. Eng. 146 (9): 04020180. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0002749.
Hashemi, A., R. Masoudnia, and P. Quenneville. 2016. “Seismic performance of hybrid self-centering steel-timber rocking core walls with slip friction connections.” J. Constr. Steel Res. 126 (Nov): 201–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2016.07.022.
Hashemi, A., P. Zarnani, R. Masoudnia, and P. Quennneville. 2018. “Experimental testing of rocking cross-laminated timber walls with resilient slip friction joints.” J. Struct. Eng. 144 (1): 04017180. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0001931.
Kiggins, S., and C.-M. Uang. 2006. “Reducing residual drift of buckling-restrained braced frames as a dual system.” Eng. Struct. 28 (11): 1525–1532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2005.10.023.
Lam, F., M. Schulte-Wrede, C. C. Yao, and J. J. Gu. 2008. “Moment resistance of bolted timber connections with perpendicular to grain reinforcements.” In Proc., World Conf. on Timber Engineering, Institute for Mechanics of Materials and Structures. Madison, WI: Engineered Wood Products Association.
McKenna, F., M. H. Scott, and G. L. Fenves. 2010. “Nonlinear finite-element analysis software architecture using object composition.” J. Comput. Civ. Eng. 24 (1): 95–107. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CP.1943-5487.0000002.
Murphy, C., C. P. Pantelides, H.-E. Blomgren, and D. Rammer. 2021. “Development of timber buckling restrained brace for mass timber-braced frames.” J. Struct. Eng. 147 (5): 04021050. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0002996.
Ogrizovic, J., F. Wanninger, and A. Frangi. 2017. “Experimental and analytical analysis of moment-resisting connections with glued-in rods.” Eng. Struct. 145 (Aug): 322–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2017.05.029.
Otero-Chans, D., J. Estévez-Cimadevila, F. Suárez-Riestra, and E. Martín-Gutiérrez. 2018. “Experimental analysis of glued-in steel plates used as shear connectors in Timber-Concrete-Composites.” Eng. Struct. 170 (Sep): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2018.05.062.
Petrycki, A., and O. Salem. 2020. “Structural integrity of bolted glulam frame connections reinforced with self-tapping screws in a column removal scenario.” J. Struct. Eng. 146 (10): 04020213. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0002792.
Popovski, M., H. G. L. Prion, and E. Karacabeyli. 2002. “Seismic performance of connections in heavy timber construction.” Can. J. Civ. Eng. 29 (3): 389–399. https://doi.org/10.1139/l02-020.
Rebouças, A. S., Z. Mehdipour, J. M. Branco, and P. B. Lourenço. 2022. “Ductile moment-resisting timber connections: A review.” Buildings 12 (2): 240. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12020240.
Sabelli, R., S. A. Mahin, and C. Chang. 2003. “Seismic demands on steel braced-frame buildings with buckling-restrained braces.” Eng. Struct. 25 (5): 655–666. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0141-0296(02)00175-X.
Shen, Y., J. Schneider, S. Tesfamariam, S. F. Stiemer, and Z. Chen. 2021. “Cyclic behavior of bracket connections for cross-laminated timber (CLT): Assessment and comparison of experimental and numerical models studies.” J. Build. Eng. 39 (Jul): 102197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.102197.
Steiger, R., E. Serrano, M. Stepinac, V. Rajcic, C. O’Neill, D. McPolin, and R. Widmann. 2015. “Strengthening of timber structures with glued-in rods.” Constr. Build. Mater. 97 (Oct): 90–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.03.097.
Wu, A.-C., P.-C. Lin, and K.-C. Tsai. 2014. “High-mode buckling responses of buckling-restrained brace core plates.” Earthquake Eng. Struct. Dyn. 43 (3): 375–393. https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.2349.
Xu, W., and C. P. Pantelides. 2017. “Strong-axis and weak-axis buckling and local bulging of buckling-restrained braces with prismatic core plates.” Eng. Struct. 153 (Dec): 279–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2017.10.017.
Yasumura, M., and N. Kwai. 1998. “Estimating seismic performance of wood-frame structures.” In Proc., 5th World Conf. on Timber Engineering, 564–571. Lausanne, Switzerland: Presses Polytechniques et Universitaires Romandes.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 6 • June 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 12, 2022
Accepted: Dec 16, 2022
Published online: Mar 28, 2023
Published in print: Jun 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Aug 28, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Beam columns
- Beams
- Building materials
- Columns
- Connections (structural)
- Construction engineering
- Construction methods
- Cyclic tests
- Dowels
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Fastening
- Laboratory tests
- Materials engineering
- Models (by type)
- Numerical models
- Plates
- Steel beams
- Steel plates
- Structural engineering
- Structural members
- Structural systems
- Tests (by type)
- Wood and wood products
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.
Cited by
- Emily Williamson, Chris P. Pantelides, Hans-Erik Blomgren, Douglas Rammer, Nonlinear Models of Multistory Timber Frames with Timber Buckling-Restrained Braces, Journal of Structural Engineering, 10.1061/JSENDH.STENG-13137, 150, 9, (2024).
- Emily Williamson, Chris P. Pantelides, Hans-Erik Blomgren, Douglas Rammer, Seismic Performance of Timber Frames with Timber Buckling-Restrained Braces, Journal of Structural Engineering, 10.1061/JSENDH.STENG-12877, 150, 6, (2024).
- Emily Williamson, Chris P. Pantelides, Hans-Erik Blomgren, Douglas Rammer, Design and Cyclic Experiments of a Mass Timber Frame with a Timber Buckling Restrained Brace, Journal of Structural Engineering, 10.1061/JSENDH.STENG-12363, 149, 10, (2023).