Shake-Table Test of a Seismically Resilient 10-Story Mass Timber Building with Supplemental Uplift Friction Dampers

Post-tensioned rocking mass timber walls (PT-RMTWs) have been established as a seismically resilient seismic force-resisting system for mass timber buildings with high potential. The literature is rich in experimental studies that show that mass timber walls exhibit rocking wall behavior but require supplemental damping systems to dissipate energy during an earthquake. In this experimental study, the dynamic seismic response of a recently introduced low-damage uplift friction damper (UFD) for PT-RMTWs is validated. Experimental tests were conducted as a separate payload project using the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) TallWood large-scale 10-story mass timber building shake-table test specimen. Tests were conducted at the NHERI Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table at the University of California, San Diego. This paper reports the results of this experimental test program with the UFDs along with some limited comparisons to numerical results. First, the global response of the test building is presented. Second, local and global behavior of the UFDs installed on the test building is highlighted. Third, a comparison of building response with and without the UFDs of the test building is presented. Lastly, some limited comparisons are made with the experimental results with those predicted obtained from a nonlinear response history analysis of a numerical model of the test building. The reported experimental results show that the UFDs enhanced the seismic response of the test building quantified by increasing the lateral strength, reducing the peak interstory drifts, and adding energy dissipation.