Study of the lateral performance of wood-frame shear walls with different sheathing arrangements

Sheathing panels are important for wood-frame shear walls to resist lateral loading, particularly that caused by seismic loading. As the sheathing panels are usually made with standard sizes smaller than the height and width of walls in engineering practices, arrangement types of the sheathing panels would significantly affect the lateral performance of wood-frame shear walls. This study evaluated the lateral performance of wood-frame shear walls with different arrangements of sheathing panels by testing and numerical modelling. Three full-scale wood-frame shear walls were tested under low-cycle reciprocating loading. Numerical models were established according to the test specimens and validated by testing data with good agreement. In addition, based on the validated numerical modelling method, two groups of modellings were further carried out to investigate effects of the different types of sheathing arrangements and the wall aspect ratio, respectively. Performance of the walls were investigated, analyzed and compared, including the damage modes, stiffness, strength, ductility and energy dissipation, and so on. The study results revealed that the effect of sheathing arrangements on wall strength was insignificant, when the influences of the frame structure and nail quantity were excluded. It was found that the larger the inertial moment of nailing of the sheathing panels, the higher the wall stiffness. The force-displacement stiffness and strength of the wall decreased with the increase of the wall height; however, the force-drift ratio relationships revealed insignificant difference. This study can be references for related research and design of the wood-frame shear walls in engineering practice. •The lateral resistance of wood shear wall with combined sheathing was investigated.•The second moment of nailing was considered.•Numerical models of walls were developed.