Experimental evaluation and numerical modelling of timber-framed walls

Timber-framed wall buildings are seen all over Europe, especially in seismic regions, given its adequacy to resist earthquakes. The pombaline buildings, developed after the big 1755 earthquake that destroyed Lisbon, constitute one of the best examples of ancient seismic-resistant structures based on timber-framed masonry walls. But in addition to suffering natural degradation and frequent inadequate interventions, these buildings were not prepared to resist the severe seismic actions envisaged by today’s structural codes. In this context, they increasingly have to undergo rehabilitation and reinforcing works. The success of these projects strongly depends on the accuracy of the structural modelling, which in turn depends on knowledge of the behaviour of the existing structure. Aiming at providing reliable data to be used in structural design, a series of tests was carried out on the base element that constitutes the timber-framed masonry walls: the Saint Andrew’s cross. The experimental tests were numerically simulated in order to determine the parameters that lead to the most accurate results when using linear-elastic models.