Numerical Simulations of 5‐Story Building Using Wood Light‐Frame Shear Walls and Post‐Tensioned Cross‐Laminated Timber Rocking Wall Dual Systems
Abstract
ABSTRACT This study explores the seismic performance of a five‐story prototype building using different configurations of a dual lateral force‐resisting system (LFRS) combining post‐tensioned cross‐laminated timber rocking walls (PT‐CLT‐RW) with conventional wood light‐frame shear walls (LiFS). Motivated by the need to improve earthquake resilience in wood construction, the proposed system leverages the self‐centering and strongback characteristics of PT‐CLT‐RW while utilizing the energy dissipation capacity of LiFS. A practical design methodology is presented for this dual system, building upon existing code‐based procedures, and applied to a five‐story residential building archetype located in a region of high seismicity, San Jose, CA. Nonlinear time history analysis (NTHA) is conducted on idealized 2D structural models to evaluate the impact of different base shear allocations between the two subsystems. Configurations studied include a LiFS‐only system, a PT‐CLT‐RW‐only system, and dual systems with PT‐CLT‐RW designed to resist 15%, 25%, or 50% of total base shear. Results demonstrate that including PT‐CLT‐RW substantially improves seismic performance, notably by reducing the number of collapses observed, peak and residual story drift ratios, and the concentration of deformation at individual stories. These improvements are attributed to the rocking wall's strongback behavior and post‐decompression stiffness as well as the self‐centering characteristic of PT‐CLT‐RWs, which help distribute drift ratio more uniformly across stories and mitigate soft‐story collapse mechanisms. Including PT‐CLT‐RW could increase the likelihood of large peak floor accelerations, though the median peak floor acceleration was similar. The findings suggest that even modest incorporation of PT‐CLT‐RW (e.g., 15% base shear contribution) could provide meaningful performance gains, supporting its feasibility as a complementary system within conventional light‐frame construction. The design and modeling approach presented here can be readily adopted by practicing engineers, offering a low‐barrier pathway toward more resilient multi‐story wood buildings.
Reference
Ruben Jerves; Adam R. Phillips. (2026). Numerical Simulations of 5‐Story Building Using Wood Light‐Frame Shear Walls and Post‐Tensioned Cross‐Laminated Timber Rocking Wall Dual Systems. Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics. https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.70307
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