Real-Time Hybrid Simulation of Multi-Story Wood Shear Wall Systems

Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) of stacked wood shear walls with a rate-dependent seismic energy dissipation device (viscous damper) for retrofit and without the device was conducted at the newly constructed Structural Engineering Laboratory at the University of Alabama. The experimental substructures were the first-story shear wall with and without the damping device and the numerical substructure was the upper two stories. A modified Newmark-β integration algorithm was used to determine the simulated displacement response of the first story wall and was subsequently applied to the test wall via a hydraulic actuator. The hysteretic CASHEW model was used to model the response of the numerical upper two stories. The wood shear wall specimen exhibited realistic hysteretic behavior and realistic damage patterns, demonstrating that RTHS is a reliable experimental method to study the seismic response of wood-framed structures, particularly those that include rate-dependent seismic protection devices that require real-time testing.