The paper investigates the structural response and vulnerability of timber log-haus wall under in-plane seismic
loads. Careful consideration is given, in particular, to the structural efficiency of additional metal fasteners
introduced within the thickness of timber log-walls.
Log-haus systems are typically obtained by stacking multiple logs, and generally used for residential or commercial
buildings up to two levels. Their seismic characterization, however, still requires further investigations and studies,
since current standards for timber structures (i.e. Eurocode 5 and Eurocode 8) do not provide specific
recommendations for their seismic design. In this regard, the so called steel dovetail profiles are aimed to improve
the in-plane stiffness and ultimate resistance of traditional timber log-walls.
Taking advantage of past experiments carried out on small-scale joint specimens, as well as past 3D numerical
efforts, in this paper full 3D solid models are described in ABAQUS, to assess the potential of steel dovetail
profiles, as well as to capture possible issues. Numerical simulations are proposed both for small-scale specimens
as well as full 3D assemblies, being representative of the actual loading and boundary conditions for log-haus walls
as part of a real building. As such, the effect of key input parameters and main influencing aspects is emphasized.
Based on the rather close correlation between experimental and numerical results, as well as on the well promising
effects and benefits due to the proposed reinforcement technique, the same numerical study has been further
extended. To this aim, full log assemblies well representative of the actual boundary and loading condition of logs
being part of a real building have been analyzed.
As shown, also in accordance with past numerical investigations and outcomes, the overall in-plane response of
such systems typically depends on a combination of multiple aspects, including small gaps within the carpentry
joints as well as the compressive load level and possible damage mechanisms occurring in all the interacting
structural components. In any case, as emphasized in the paper, the examined steel dovetails can have beneficial
effects on the seismic response of traditional log-haus walls. In this regard, it is hence expected that current FE
outcomes could be useful for full optimization of the proposed enhancement technique.
