Experimental Study on Energy Dissipation Capacity of Novel Dissipative Connections for CLT Structures

Abstract:

Connections are essential in ensuring the seismic performance of timber structures， and the energy dissipation capacity of connections is an important index to measure the serviceability of connections for earthquakes. In this paper， the novel dissipative angle bracket and hold-down for cross-laminated timber（CLT） structures were proposed. Fifteen sets of cyclic loading tests were conducted to evaluate the failure mechanisms and mechanical properties of these connections. Almost all the tested specimens have a ductility larger than 9.0， meeting the requirements of Eurocode 8 for high ductility connections with D>6， and belonging to the high ductility class. The strength degradation of the novel dissipative connections in the working stage less than 20%， indicating the engineering applicability of the novel connections. The equivalent viscous damping ratio of the novel dissipative connections in the working stage is 12%~22%， and that of the common commercial connections is 2.5%~15.8%， indicating the high energy-consuming capacity of the novel connections.