Nonlinear Finite‐Element Model of Complete Light‐Frame Wood Structures

A light‐frame wood structure is an assemblage of several components such as walls, floors, and roof, joined by intercomponent connections such as nails or metal plates. Behavior of a full structure reflects the interactive behavior of the individual components and connections. Whereas individual substructures have been investigated both experimentally and analytically, individual substructures and components of a light‐frame wood building have never been incorporated into a full‐structure model. This research provides an analytical method to investigate the behavior of light‐frame wood structures loaded by static loads. Special attention is given to load sharing among wall components. A one‐story wood‐frame building (4.9×9.8m) was tested under cyclic quasistatic loads. Results of the experiment were used to verify a nonlinear finite‐element model of the full building. The full‐structure model was an assemblage of superelements, representing floor and roof, and quasisuperelements, representing walls and in...