Experimental Testing of Roof to Wall Connections in Wood Frame Houses.
Experimental Testing of Roof to Wall Connections in Wood
Frame Houses.
(9564 K)
Riley, M. A.; Sadek, F.
NISTIR 6938; 76 p. April 2003.
Available from:
: National Technical Information Service
(NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161.
Telephone:
1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000;
Fax: 703-605-6900; Rush
Service (Telephone Orders Only) 800-553-6847;
Website:
http://www.ntis.gov
Order number: PB2003-104590
Keywords:
roofs; walls; wooden structures; tests; housing;
experimental testing; residential housing; residential
buildings; wind loads; seismic loads; connection
response; inter-component connections; roof to wall
connections
Abstract:
The majority of residential construction in the United
States is wood-frame construction. These buildings
perform well under gravity loads, but considerable
damage has been observed in such structures after
significant earthquakes and major hurricanes. This is
due to weaknesses inherent in current wood-frame
construction and underscores the need for improving the
structural performance of typical homes. To enhance the
resistance of houses to natural disasters and to reduce
the risk to life and property, the behavior of
wood-frame buildings subjected to dynamic and lateral
loads needs to be better understood. These buildings are
typically constructed from diaphragms that are joined by
inter-component connections, which can greatly influence
the overall behavior of the structure. An understanding
of the behavior of each of the structural components and
connections is essential to accurately predict the
performance of a housing unit under different types of
loading. While the response of many of the components of
wood-frame houses are well documented, there is a lack
of performance data for inter-component connections
between intersecting walls, roofs and walls, and walls
and foundations. Since post-event investigations of
several recent disasters indicate that failure of
inter-component connections played a large role in the
failure of many structures, the response of such
connections needs to be better understood. To achieve
this, experiments are needed to investigate how these
connections respond as they are loaded to failure. The
resulting experimental data can be used to develop
improved analytical models of wood-frame structures,
which can be used to design houses that are better able
to resist extreme loads. This report describes the
results of a series of tests on two types of roof to
wall connections. These test results show how the
connections are likely to perform when subjected to
strong winds or seismic loads. The results of the tests
provide data necessary for the development of improved
analytical models of the connection response, which
could in turn lead to improved design tools for
wood-frame construction, and to stronger and more
structurally efficient residential buildings.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899