SHAKE TABLE TESTS OF A THREE-STORY SPATIAL TIMBER FRAME WITH MOMENT CONNECTIONS

Bohumil Kasal1, Andreas Heiduschke2, Stanislav Pospisil3, Shota Urushadze3

ABSTRACT: This paper describes experiments conducted on beam-to-column moment connections and shake-table tests of a here-story timber frame. The beam-to-column connections were subjected to static-cyclic tests to establish moment-rotation curves, energy dissipated per cycle, and total cumulative dissipated energy. The connection test results were used to select the beam-to-column connections for the frame experiment. The selection criteria included ductility and the capability of the connection to limit an expected drift of the tested frame. Shake-table tests revealed that relatively stiff connections, even with limited ductility, performed well when used in a frame. KEYWORDS: Moment connections, Ductility, Dissipated energy, Frame, Shake table test

1 INTRODUCTION 123
The application of heavy timber construction in commercial and residential buildings is relatively rare compared to steel or reinforced concrete (RC) frames. This is due to a variety of reasons ranging from fire considerations to the training of engineers who, at least in the United States, only seldom understand wood as an engineering material and are familiar with the design requirements [1]. Heavy timber frames (laminated or solid) perform exceptionally well under dynamic loads providing that the joints between beams and columns have sufficient moment and energy dissipation capacity [2]. Drift levels that must be controlled are an issue in the timber frames due to the limited stiffness of momenttransferring connections and the frame members themselves [3]. We believe that drift levels [5], originally developed for RC and steel frames, do not favor timber frames that can undergo significantly larger drifts without permanent damage either to the members or joints [4].

sufficient ductility while limiting frame drifts (stiffness requirement). 2.1 MOMENT CONNECTIONS The intent of the experiments was to select the optimal moment connection with sufficient ductility and stiffness that will control the drift levels and provide sufficient energy dissipation. These two requirements are frequently conflicting since the need for increased stiffness is at the expense of ductility. Unlike frames previously designed and tested by the authors that were plane frames [4], the three-story frame was a spatial frame where moment capacities in both principal directions were determined by the joint moment capacity and no bracing was required. Such connections are difficult to achieve due to space limitations and the inherent properties of wood. Floors also need to be included in the frame design; they can be utilized as elements providing additional stiffness, especially torsional. 2.1.1 The specimens Special L-shaped aluminium connectors/brackets were used to facilitate a moment connection with sufficient stiffness. Figure 1 shows the detail of the connection inclusive of the connectors sitting on the top and bottom of the beam. As shown in Figure 1 L-shaped profiles (Simpson Strong Tie, EL connectors) were screwed to the beams and columns with full thread screws (column 5x70 mm, beam 5x140 mm). Since the EL-connectors are screwed to the beams and column, they can only transfer tensional loads.

2 EXPERIMENTS
Two sets of experiments were conducted: (1) moment connections between beams and columns were tested using quasi-static cyclic loads, and (2) a scaled model of the three-story frame was tested on a shake table under various dynamic loads. The tests (1) were used to select the optimal moment connection that will provide
1 Bohumil Kasal, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16002. Email: kasalb@engr.psu.edu 2 Andreas Heiduschke, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden. Email: andreas.heiduschke@tu-dresden.de 3 Stanislav Pospisil, Shota Urushadze, Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Prosecka 6, 11000 Praha. Email: pospisil@itam.cas.cz, urushadze@itam.cas.cz

Science of the Czech Republic. The parameters of the equipment are listed in Table 1.
Table 1: Parameters of the shake table

Parameters Width [mm] Length [mm] Max frequency (peak to peak) [Hz] Max stroke [mm] Max load [kg]

Value 1250 1500 40 150 up to 1500

Figure 1: Detail of the beam-to-column moment connection

The compression component of the moment is transferred through direct contact between the beam and column. The compression perpendicular to grain limits the strength and stiffness of the connection but provides ductility. In order to transmit tensile and shear forces from the beam to the column, the EL-connectors were modified by drilling additional holes into the short flange of the profile (see Figure 4). The set-up for the cyclic tests of beam-to-column connections is schematically shown in Figure 2. The length of the cantilever arm was 500 mm. The load was applied at the end of the column via a pinned connection. Displacements were measured using the crosshead readings and an independent displacement transducer (RD) attached to one end of the beam.

2.2.1 Test specimen The test specimen is shown in Figure 3. The frame had the footprint of 900 by 900 mm with story heights of 660-700-700mm (first to third floor). The total height of the frame was 2060 mm. The columns had cross sections of 80 by 80 mm and the beams had cross sections of 40 by 120 mm. The decks were constructed of 26 mm thick cross-laminated wood. All materials were European spruce (Picea excelsa) with average mass density of 410 kg/m3 and a moisture content of about 10%. The mass of the unloaded frame was 95 kg.

Figure 3: Dimensions of the tested frame

The connections between beams and column were steel brackets and screws placed at a 45 angle in the beams and zero degrees in the columns. This connection provided the required stiffness and strength and was selected based on the connection tests described above. 2.2.2 Test procedure The frame was subjected to a free vibration test (hammer impact) at the beginning and end of each test sequence (seismic test) to establish the natural frequency; sinusoidal sweep tests were performed in addition to the free vibration tests. The frame was loaded by distributed masses at each level. Narrow steel strips adhered to the decks were used for the load simulation see Figure 4. This increased the deck stiffness but was necessary to prevent the loads from moving during vibration tests. The masses were 100 kg for the first two floors and 120 kg for the third floor. This was necessary to induce sufficient moments and forces in the system. The tests were run at 0 and 45 (Figure 4) with respect to the principal frame axis. The 45 angle was used to induce torsional vibration.

Figure 2: Test set-up for rotational stiffness test of the beam-to-column connection

2.1.2 Test procedure The beam-to-column connection was tested using the DIN EN 12512:2001 [7] cyclic test protocol. 2.2 SHAKE TABLE TESTS OF THE FRAME The shake table tests were performed at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Academy of

Table 2: Parameters of the connection

Parameters Rotational stiffness Kr [kNm/rad] Max. moment Mmax [kNm] Yield moment My [kNm] Yield rotation y [rad] Ultimate rotation u [rad] Static ductility (u/y) Cum. dissipated energy Ed [kNm*rad] at = 0.042 rad

Value 133 2.49 1.90 0.013 0.08 6.1 0.37

Figure 4: Shake table test setup (frame loaded under 45) and connection detail

Accelerometers and velocity transducers were located at each floor in both principal directions. The table position and acceleration were measured using a linear variable displacement transducer (LVDT) and an accelerometer. The seismic tests were generated using the simulated time history generated by the procedure described in [6].

For the determination of the yield point the `1/6 method` described in DIN EN 12512 was used. The connections can be classified as DCM (with medium capacity to dissipate energy - EC8 [5]) since they are capable to deform plastically for at least three fully reversed cycles, at a static ductility ratio of 4, without more than 20% reduction in their resistance. The connection failed by the crushing of wood fibers at the column due to compression perpendicular to grain loading followed by the tearing out of screws (90) on the tension side of the column. 3.2 THE FRAME The test results for the frame tested under zero degrees with respect to the principal axis are in Table 3. Clearly, as the seismic tests progress, the 1st natural frequency tends to decrease due to the stiffness degradation. The sweep tests tend to produce lower natural (near to resonant) frequencies compared to the free vibration tests. This is because the amplitudes are higher during the sine sweeps and this tends to push the frame toward lateral displacements that slightly degrade stiffness.

3 TEST RESULTS
3.1 BEAM-TO-COLUMN CONNECTIONS Figure 5 shows the moment-rotation relationship for the tested beam-to-column connection.

Figure 5. Moment-rotation curve for the beam-to-column connection used in the frame shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6: Free vibration test result using impact hammer FFT plot.

The mechanical characteristics of the connection that were extracted from the moment-rotation hysteresis are listed in Table 2.

The damping was evaluated using the bandwidth method from the sine sweep tests and the results are inconclusive. One would expect that the damping would increase as the system degrades, which was not the case - Table 4.

Figure 7: FFT of the sinusoidal sweep test.

December 2003 final draft, CEN, Brussels, Belgium. 2003. [6] Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE Standard 344. Recommended practice for seismic qualification of class 1E equipment for nuclear power generating stations. 1987. [7] DIN EN 12512. Timber Structures Test methods Cyclic testing of joints made with mechanical fasteners. German Version EN 12512:2001, Beuth Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 2002.

4 CONCLUSIONS
The 3-story spatial frame behaved as expected when subject to arbitrary loading simulating seismic events. Natural frequencies of the frame were decreasing as the tests progressed. The beams-to-column connections were relatively stiff and this controlled the drifts and degradation. The moment connections for a spatial frame configuration are difficult to achieve and the tested details provided sufficient stiffness and strength.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The beam-to-column connections tests were performed at the Otto Mohr Structural Engineering Laboratory of TU Dresden. The shake table tests were performed at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Prague. The help of the staff of both laboratories and the support of the Hankin Chair of the Pennsylvania State University are gratefully acknowledged. Help of Pavel Beran, Graduate Student from the Czech Technical University with data test data processing is gratefully acknowledged.

REFERENCES
[1] Testa, B.M. and Gupta, R.: 2004. Ivory towers - the status of wood design education in American universities. Engineered Wood Journal (APA - The Engineered Wood Association), 20-22, 2004. [2] Heiduschke, A., P. Haller, and B. Kasal. 2004. Zum Tragverhalten textilbewehrt-verdichteter Rahmenecken unter zyklischer Beanspruchung (in German). Bautechnik 81, Heft 8, Ernst & Sohn. Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. ISSN 0932-8351, Berlin p. 658-661. 2004. [3] Heiduschke, A., B. Kasal, and P. Haller. Performance and drift levels of tall timber frame buildings under seismic and wind loads. Structural Engineering International, Vol. 18, Nr. 2, published by IABSE, pg. 186-191, 2008. [4] Heiduschke, A., B. Kasal, and P. Haller. Shake table tests of small- and full-scale laminated timber frames with moment connections. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering. Springer Verlag. Vol. 7. No 1.: 323-339. 2009. [5] EUROCODE 8 Design of structures for earthquake resistance. Part 1: general rules prEN 1998-1.

Table 3: Test results for loading at zero degrees with respect to the principal axis of the frame.

Test

Natural frequency - Hz 1 2 9.26 7.98 9.24 17.0 17.0

Damping

Acceleration - m/s2 Top level Table

Displacement - mm Top level Drift

Free vibration test Sine sweep test Free vibration test Seismic tests Free vibration test Seismic test

6-8%

37.72 9.13 16.6 19.75

37.27

21.0

29.7

8.06

5.2

6.8

Table 4: Test results for loading at 45 degrees with respect to the principal axis of the frame.

Test

Natural frequency - Hz 1 2 8.31 8.06 8.06 7.31 15.8 16.1

Damping

Acceleration - m/s2 Top level Table

Displacement - mm Top level Drift

Free vibration test Sweep test Seismic tests Free vibration test Sweep test Fixed frequency test Sweep test Free vibration test

5.8% 35.25 39.45 22.00 33.50

7.8% 71.9 11.10

7.24 7.60

7.7% 15.3