Modelling of Multi-Storey Cross-Laminated Timber Buildings for Vibration Serviceability

In this study, the vibration serviceability of multi-storey timber buildings is addressed. The core of this study pertains to the preparation of a comprehensive finite element model to predict modal properties for an accurate vibration serviceability checking. To that end, findings obtained from studying three multi-storey timber buildings are summarized and discussed. Two of the buildings (of seven and eight storeys) consist entirely of cross-laminated timber (CLT), while the third is a five-storey hybrid CLT-concrete building. Thanks to the detailed finite element models and modal testing results, one has the capability to conduct sensitivity analyses, classical and Bayesian model updating, and uncertainty quantifications. With these methodologies, influential modelling parameters as well as the sources of modelling error were identified. This allowed for conclusions to be drawn about the in-plane shear stiffness of the constructed walls (whose higher value causes the natural frequencies to increase by up to 25%), the soil deformability (which may cause the natural frequencies to drop by up to 20%), and the perpendicular-to-the-grain deformation of floor slabs (which may lead to an overestimation of a fundamental frequency by up to 8%).

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