SEISMIC EVALUATION OF ADVANCED CONNECTION SYSTEMS IN WOOD-FRAMED SHEAR WALLS FOR STRUCTURAL DESIGN

Wood-framed shear walls are commonly used to construct low- to mid-rise buildings, particularly in seismic regions. However, as seismic demands increase, the need for more robust, efficient, and cost-effective connection systems is critical to improve the performance of these shear walls. This paper evaluates advanced connection systems for wood-framed shear walls in seismic applications, focusing on their effectiveness in enhancing lateral load resistance, reducing damage, and improving overall system performance. The study aims to provide valuable insights for designers, engineers, and builders to improve the seismic resilience of wood-framed buildings.  seismic performance of wood-framed buildings, advanced connection systems, and structural wood design. Determine areas requiring further investigation. The fundamentals of displacement-based seismic design are presented along with a description of the system parameters required for its application. A simple numerical model capable of predicting the cyclic response and energy dissipation characteristics of wood shear walls under general quasi-static cyclic loading is presented to evaluate these parameters for wood-framed buildings. The generalization of this model to three-dimensional wood-framed structures is also discussed. As an application example, the displacement-based seismic design of a simple one-story shear wall building is presented. In turn, this design approach is validated by nonlinear dynamic time-history analyses using earthquake records representative of the hazard levels associated with the design performance levels.