Seismic performance of stone supported traditional timber frames with or without cap beams

Abstract

Traditional timber frames in East Asia rest on stone bases, and are uncapped or capped with flat timber beams on their top. This study quantified the influence of the cap beam on the seismic performance of stone supported traditional timber frames. Four column foot and head joints were half-scale fabricated and reversed cyclically tested. Typical damage modes of the joints were identified. Methods were proposed to characterize the joints' rotational behavior. Finite element models of stone supported traditional timber frames with or without cap beams were developed. Lateral performance analysis was conducted on typical full-scale frames based on the developed models; fragility analysis was further performed to evaluate the full-scale frames' seismic performance. The tests indicated that the column foot joints were self-centering and had minor residual parallel to grain deformation. However, the column head joints were found with the embedment deformation at the cap beams, resulting to the pinching of their moment-rotation hysteretic curves. By use of existing hysteretic models in OpenSess whose parameters expressed by the theoretical maximum moment and elastic rotational stiffness, the joints’ rotational behavior was well captured. The numerical study indicated that the cap beam significantly increased the lateral performance and deformability of a frame. The elastic stiffness, lateral load-resisting capacity and cumulative energy dissipation of the frame increased by 77%, 81% and 42%, respectively. Fragility analysis indicated that the cap beam increased more than 33% and 23% of the PGAs corresponding to 50% probability exceedance under life safety drift limit and collapse prevention drift limit, respectively.