THE ROLE OF INTERMODULAR CONNECTIONS IN THE GLOBAL BEHAVIOR OF HIGH-RISE MASS TIMBER BUILDINGS

Abstract

The use of mass timber as a pre-engineered product combined with prefabrication processes to assemble volumetric modular units contributes to optimizing the construction by reducing time, waste, and the weight of the structures for high-rise buildings located in high seismic regions. The performance of modular buildings subjected to lateral loads demonstrated that the connections between the modules play an important role in the diaphragm behavior and the structural response of the buildings. To study the building response, a parametric analysis was performed on 9-, 12-, and 18-story mass timber modular buildings simulated in OpenSees, to identify the influence of the stiffness of the intermodule connections and their location between the modular units. The analysis identified key parameters that govern the diaphragm behavior and how it affects the building's performance. The results demonstrated that the horizontal translational stiffness of the intermodular connections controls the diaphragm behavior thereby controlling the classification of the diaphragm as rigid, semi-rigid, and flexible diaphragm ranges for modular buildings. Additionally, the location of the intermodular connection modifies the diaphragm deflections and the envelope of the column force demands for the gravity system.