Analytical model for lateral deflection of multi-storey platform-type CLT shear walls accounting for floor-wall interaction

The lateral design of multi-panel CLT shear walls requires reliable prediction of elastic rocking drift, yet most existing methods are limited to single-storey systems and neglect floor-wall interactions. This paper presents a design-oriented analytical framework for multi-storey, multi-panel walls under coupled-panel (CP) behaviour. A generalized matrix formulation is developed to compute the rocking rotations of floors and wall panels at each storey, applicable to any configuration of storeys and panels. The analytical conditions required to ensure CP behavior are derived and discussed. To validate the model’s mathematical accuracy and practical applicability, numerical models involving two- and four-storey configurations with varying numbers of panels are analyzed. Additionally, experimental results from a two-storey, two-panel shear wall test available in literature are used to verify the predictive performance of the proposed approach. The results demonstrate that the method provides accurate estimates of lateral deformation and offers a viable analytical tool for the design of CLT shear wall systems in multi-storey applications. A comparison between the analytical model introduced in this study and that of established previously with no wall-floor interaction are presented, indicating significant impact of such introduction on reducing the CLT shear wall inter-storey rocking deformation. • Analytical model predicts rocking of multi-storey CLT walls with floor interaction. • Matrix expressions yield wall and floor rocking rotations for any panel–storey set. • CP behaviour requirements developed for side and middle panels. • FE walls (2-4 storeys, 2-4 panels) confirm model accuracy and key assumptions. • Tests show rotation errors: 2–9% (1st storey) and 4–17% (2nd), high fidelity.