Seismic Performance of Traditional Half-Timbered Walls: Experimental Results

Abstract

Half-timbered structures have been adopted as a typical seismic-resistant construction in many countries and they represent an important cultural heritage worth preserving. Little information is available on the performance of such structures when subjected to seismic actions; to overcome this lack of information, in-plane cyclic tests were carried out on real-scale half-timbered and timber frame walls, taking into consideration parameters such as vertical pre-compression and type of infill. Additionally, considering the great rehabilitation effort that has been taking place in the last decade, retrofitting solutions were proposed and tested on the already tested walls. Analysing the typical seismic parameters (e.g. ductility, energy dissipation, viscous damping), the influence of the type of infill and of the different retrofitting techniques were verified.