PREVENTION OF SOFT-STORY MECHANISM OF WOODEN HOUSES USING CONTINUOUS WALLS

In this paper, the structural system using continuous walls which prevents soft-story mechanism of a wooden house is proposed and its mechanical properties are investigated through experimental and numerical studies. The static loading test on a scaled two-story wooden wall and the shaking table test on a two-story wooden frame show that the proposed structural system works to reduce the damage concentration to a specific story and prevent soft-story collapse. Time-history seismic response analysis shows that the effect of the continuous wall is represented by the beam element located along the height of a main frame.