Light Frame Wood structures are today a valid alternative to Cross Laminated Timber structures for low and medium height buildings, both in terms of performance and environmental impact, given the lower volume of wood used. Light wood frames demonstrate a ductile behavior under seismic actions, linked to the plastic deformation of the connections, but uncertainties still regard the value of the behaviour factor associated to these types of structures. This paper presents the evaluation of the behaviour factor ‘q’, used for the seismic design, based on Incremental Dynamic Analyses for Light-Frame Timber Buildings. Papers in literature regarding its evaluation are mostly based on static nonlinear pushover analyses. Example buildings with 2, 3 and 4 storeys, were designed according to capacity design and then analysed by varying the displacement-ductility of the sheathing-to-frame connection. The results are then compared with the requirements provided by codes.
