Low-Damage Seismic Solutions for Structural Systems with Wood

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In typical seismic design approach, damages during a major earthquake are considered acceptable as long as life safety is achieved. But significant financial losses in recent earthquakes have raised questions about performance of structures in terms of post-earthquake recovery cost and time. One alternative approach termed “Low-damage Solution”, which avoids damage to the main structural members by allowing damages in sacrificial elements within the system, has attracted significant interest from designers, planners and the community. Provisions are also made to replace the damaged elements after a major earthquake and bring the structure back to a fully functional level within a short period of time at a reasonable cost. One of the most well-known mechanisms that applies the low-damage philosophy involves the combination of unbonded post-tensioning and mild steel-yielding elements. The post-tensioning tendons are essentially elastic metal strands that run through the structural members holding them together, thereby ensuring integrity and full self-centering of the assembly following an earthquake. The mild steel elements located at connections absorb energy through significant inelastic deformations, in turn protecting the main structural members from damage.