Effects of external loads-induced inclination damage on the seismic performance of traditional straight M-T joints

Under the earthquakes, wind, and other external loads, ancient timber structures have experienced various degrees of damages, in which the inclination damage of mortise and tenon (M-T) joints, induced by the external loads, has an adverse effect on the safety of the whole structure. To study the effect of various degrees of inclination damage on the seismic behavior of straight M-T joints, we fabricated four 1/3.2-scaled ancient straight M-T joint specimens, one without inclination and three with different degrees of inclination, and subjected them to the cyclic loading tests. The inclination of the joint was simulated artificially, i.e., pushing the intact joint to the predetermined inclination rotation and holding the loads, then unloading when the part of tenon entered a nonrecoverable plastic state. The failure modes, initial elastic stiffness, moment-resisting capacity, strength and stiffness degradation laws as well as energy dissipation and deformation capacities of the joints were investigated. The results showed that the plastic deformation of the tenon and mortise edge, tenon pull-out, and longitudinal splitting of the tenon were exhibited in the inclined joint specimens. Compared to the intact joint, the plastic deformation of the tenon and tenon pull-out for the inclined M-T joints were more apparent during the positive loading. The hysteretic curve of each joint exhibited an anti- "Z" shaped, and the greater the inclination degree, the more apparent the negative initial slipping and pinching effect. With an increase in the damage degree, the initial stiffness, ultimate moment-resisting capacity, and hysteretic energy dissipation behavior of the inclined M-T joint gradually degraded. When the damage degree was 3.89%, the positive yielding moment, peak moment, and initial stiffness of the inclined M-T joint degraded to 52.41%, 86.09%, and 67.19% of that of the intact joint. Based on the hysteretic characteristics and test results of the inclined M-T joints, the degradation formulas of the key parameters of seismic behavior for the inclined M-T joints were established, and an improved degraded hysteretic model, which can reflect the hysteretic behaviors of inclined M-T joint, was proposed. Good agreements between the model predictions and the test results were observed.