Experimental investigation of the hysteretic behaviour of single-story single- and coupled-panel CLT shear walls with nailed connections

Abstract

The impact of wall-to-floor hold-downs, vertical spline joints, shear connectors, panel aspect ratio, and gravity loading on the performance of single storey cross-laminated timber (CLT) shear walls was experimentally investigated. The shear walls consisted of 191 mm thick 7-ply CLT panels with nail connected hold-downs, shear brackets, and plywood surface splines. First, the strength and stiffness of the hold-downs, vertical spline joints, and shear brackets were determined. Then, a total of 27 single and coupled shear walls with panel aspect ratios of 2.5 and 3.5, gravity loading of 20 kN/m and 30 kN/m, different hold-down strength as well as different nail spacing in the splines were tested under monotonic and reversed cyclic loading. The connector tests showed that the presence of washers, even with reduced nailing, significantly increased overall connection stiffness, capacity, and ductility. The shear wall tests demonstrated that the wall aspect ratio had the most significant influence on the shear wall performance. Increasing the number of shear brackets also resulted in higher capacity, deformation, and energy dissipation, while tighter nail spacing in the spline joints resulted significant higher capacity and stiffness in coupled shear walls.