Seismic performance of timber-steel hybrid structural system via shaking table tests

The timber-steel hybrid structural system considered in this study is an alternative for the multi-story building. It is composed of steel frames and light-frame wood infill walls. To explore the seismic response of the hybrid structure, a four-story test building was constructed and then subjected to ground motions in Tongji University, Shanghai. Friction dampers were employed in the structure to improve the seismic performance and protect the infill walls under severe earthquake shakings. During the experiment, the hybrid structure was tested when dampers were enabled and disabled. Wenchuan, El-Centro and Kobe earthquake records were selected as seismic inputs in the test. The test results showed that the frequency reduction of the undamped structure was more obvious than the damped structure under major earthquakes, indicating the damped structure suffered less. The dampers decreased the acceleration response of the hybrid structure under major earthquakes. The results also showed that approximately 40% and over of lateral load was resisted by wood shear walls in the test. It means that the wood shear wall subsystem played an important role in the hybrid structure. The hybrid structure showed excellent performance under a series of earthquakes. Throughout the test, the damage to the test specimen was not significant. Only some nail connection failures were observed, and most failures occurred under major and extreme earthquakes.