Friction-Based Connectors for Timber Shear Walls: Static Experimental Tests

Timber shear wall systems dissipate energy through nail bending, nail withdrawal, and crushing of the sheathing around the nail hole. This dissipation mechanism is a pinching hysteretic response. Use of high-damping devices is an effective method for improving the earthquake resistance of a building. In this study, three wood friction connections were developed and tested to increase the damping of the wood shear walls. In this paper, cyclic experimental tests of the connectors and shear walls are presented. In addition, results of long-term performance assessments are also presented. The cyclic test response of the connections exhibited a rectangular hysteretic response, and the shear wall systems had an equivalent viscous damping ratio of around 0.3.