Clarification of the amplitude dependency of natural frequencies of traditional timber frame structures for utilization of ambient vibration measurements

We aim to apply the natural frequencies obtained from ambient vibration measurements to traditional wooden buildings in the following ways: Simple seismic diagnosis, rapid assessment of the damage level after an earthquake, and verification of the analytical models of buildings. In order to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to clarify the structural characteristics of various building components, ranging from the minuscule deformation region that corresponds to ambient vibration to the large deformation region that relates collapse. In this paper, the decrease rate of stiffness in wide deformation range is investigated through experiments using five different types of test specimens. © 2021 Architectural Institute of Japan. All rights reserved.