Mass timber seismic lateral force resisting systems: Testing of a full-scale three-story structure

Authors

  • Arijit Sinha Oregon State University
  • Andre R.  Barbosa School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331
  • Tu X.  Ho Simpson Strong-Tie, Pleasanton, CA 94588
  • Barbara G. Simpson Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
  • Gustavo  Araujo Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
  • Byrne T. Miyamoto Tallwood Design Institute, Corvallis, OR 97331
  • Patricio  Uarac Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331
  • Gustavo F.O. Orozco Thornton Tomasetti, Washington, DC 20036

Abstract

Over the last decade, the North American market for mass timber (MT) has diversified with the development of several engineered wood panelized products. Among these, a recent veneer-based product known as mass ply panel (MPP) has been introduced and certified per ANSI-PRG 320. To further demonstrate the potential of such engineered wood panelized products, a study was conducted to develop innovative solutions for enhanced design to low-damage seismic lateral force-resisting systems (LFRS). This paper presents an overview of the study, in which a three-story MT building was designed following performance-based design methods and constructed at Oregon State University (OSU). The gravity system includes laminated veneer lumber beams and columns and MPP floors. Two different LFRS for balloon-type MPP shear walls were studied. The first LFRS consisted of a pivoting MPP panel with steel buckling-restrained boundary elements (BRB) as energy dissipators. The second system utilized a rocking MPP panel with post-tensioned steel rods to provide self-centering capacity and U-shaped flexural plates (UFP) to dissipate energy. There were four testing phases, including two phases (Phases 0.1 and 0.2) that applied lateral loads to the gravity system only, before and after testing of LFRS; Phase 1, which included lateral testing of the building structure with an BRB-MPP shear wall; and Phase 2, which included lateral testing of the building structure with an UFP-MPP shear wall. In all four phases, the building was subjected to quasi-static cyclic tests following a CUREE protocol up to maximum 4% roof lateral drift. A summary of building details, experimental setup and key results is presented in this paper.

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2026-07-20

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Vol. 58 No. 3 (2026): Wood and Fiber Science

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Research Contributions

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