Research on in-plane lateral performance of a new-type composite timber wall panel with cold-formed steel frames

Abstract

A series of researches on the behaviour of a new structural system, composite timber wall panel with cold-formed steel frames, are investigated under monotonic and reversed cyclic loading. In order to improve the in-plane lateral performance of the composite timber panels, sixteen different optimized composite timber panels were proposed and tested, including increasing the thickness of the sheathings, improvement with steel X-bracings, filling with straw and advance of connection between sheathing and wood framing. The main objective of the investigation is to explore the pervasive mode of failure, determine the quantification of the improvement in lateral performance of these optimized composite timber wall panels and evaluate the benefits of each optimization during the process of failure.

Keywords

• Optimization
• Composite timber wall panels
• Cold–formed steel frames
• Lateral performance
• Monotonic loading
• Reversed cyclic loading
• Failure mode.