Hysteretic Performance of Self-centering Glulam Beam-To-Column Connections with Steel Core Panel Zone

AbstractResilient timber structures have arisen global attention due to the advantages in seismic resisting, of which the low repair cost and acceptable downtime are most favored to the public. Post-tensioned glued-laminated timber (PT-GLT) connections played a key role in assigning timber structures the seismic resilience. With the shortening of steel tendons, members connected to the PT-GLT connections are pulled back to their original position. However, there’s still room for improvement. Based on the authors’ previous experimental research on PT-GLT connections, the efficiency in concentrating damage was low. The connection was unable to entirely depend on the replaceable energy-dissipating elements to dissipate energy. The accumulative damage yielded to the permanent compression deformation on the timber column face, which was not recoverable This paper presents a preliminary study on the feasibility of a method for improving the PT-GLT connections. It was attempted to use a steel member in the intersection of the beam and column. The steel member provided a stiff foundation when the rocking occurred. A cyclic loading test of two PT-GLT connections was conducted. A comparison was made between the connections with and without the improvement method. It was proved that the method was beneficial to improve the connection efficiency in the energy dissipation, connection ductility, and stiffness.KeywordsPost-tensioned connectionsSteel-timber hybridizationPerformance improvement