Experimental study on the aseismic capacity of a wooden house using shaking table

The aseismic capacity of a typical Korean wooden house built using traditional construction methods is quantitatively estimated. Tenon joints were used in wooden frames. Two 1:4 scale models were tested for rock and soil foundation conditions. Scaled real earthquake time histories were input for the tests. The natural frequency and modal damping ratio of the wooden house in the elastic range were 1·66 Hz and 7 per cent, respectively. The Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) at the collapse of the house at the soil site was 0·25g, whereas PGA for moderate damage at the rock site was 0·6g. A significant reduction in acceleration response and increase in displacement response was observed for rock and soil foundation conditions, respectively. The wooden house studied is much more vulnerable at soil sites than at rock sites due to the rich low‐frequency contents of the input motion and the flexible characteristics of the wooden house. Non‐linear dynamic analyses using the modified Double‐Target model were compared with test results. The modified Double‐Target model appropriately simulates the non‐linear inelastic behaviour of a wooden house with tenon joints. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.