Numerical investigation of lateral behaviour of steel‐timber hybrid frames

This paper examines the response of steel‐timber hybrid (STH) lateral stability systems for medium‐rise buildings. A ten‐storey baseline STH structure was designed to codified procedures and compared with a steel‐concrete composite structure. Detailed numerical models were constructed in which specific constitutive representations were assigned to steel‐timber and timber‐timber connections. Parametric investigations on the STH structure were carried out in which the cross laminated timber panel layups, timber shear wall length, and connection characteristics were modified. The study indicated that the STH structure had larger lateral deformations compared to the steel‐concrete structure, both within code limits. For the same design loads, the reduction in self‐weight from the steel‐concrete structure to the STH structure was 73.1%, whilst the floor depth was reduced by 17.2%, respectively. Parametric studies showed that the lateral response of STHs is generally improved with the effective thickness of the timber infill panel and is influenced by the panel layup. Increasing the shear wall length generally enhances the lateral stiffness, yet the overall performance is reduced with the increase of panel connections. The reduction in self‐weight, member sizes and replacement of the concrete with timber led to a reduction in embodied carbon of more than 32.7% whilst achieving similar structural performance.