Seismic analysis method considering wall participation for ancient timber frame buildings

To address the shortcoming of ignoring the presence of enclosure walls in seismic analysis of ancient timber frame buildings, the influences of the structural detailing, mechanical property and plan layout of the walls and timber frames on the seismic performance of the overall structure were examined. Based on the statistical information on earthquake disasters, the damage characteristics of the wall and timber frame were summarized, and the corresponding overall damage degree to the ancient building were described. By means of dynamic property site test and finite element analysis methods, the influence of the walls to the fundamental period and earthquake performance of the ancient building was also studied. The research results show that the walls in the ancient building have an evident contribution to the overall seismic stiffness of the structure, the fundamental period of the model including the walls is close to the fundamental period obtained from the site test. However, the fundamental period of the model ignoring the wall is much greater than the site test result, rendering unsafe design. According to seismic evaluation requirement for ancient buildings and considering the brittle behavior of the brick wall, a three-stage seismic analysis method based on displacement control and taking account of various cracked working conditions of wall, is proposed for ancient timber frame buildings. © 2018, Editorial Office of Journal of Building Structures. All right reserved.