State-of-the-Art Review on Damping in Wood-Frame Shear Wall Structures

Wood-frame shear wall structures are commonly used for residential and nonresidential buildings. Extensive research has been performed on these structures to accurately model their behavior due to dynamic loads. Among the various system parameters that affect the response, damping has been identified as a complex energy-dissipation phenomenon that varies from the wood material level to the wood-frame shear wall and diaphragm assembly level to the full structural system level. Connections and nonstructural components and finishes also influence the damping characteristics. Although it is known from physical testing that damping behavior is highly nonlinear and dependent on the amplitude of deformation, it is almost universally represented mathematically with linear viscous models that are amplitude-independent. Given that the viscous damping model is not consistent with observed behavior, it is necessary to develop improved analytical models. A first step in developing such models is to review the available literature on the physical testing of wood-frame shear wall structures and learn how damping is manifested at all levels of the system hierarchy. To this end, a comprehensive review has been completed using literature available over the last several decades. The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of the review, with the desired result that the paper can serve as a reference for the development of rational damping models and improved procedures for the analysis of wood-frame shear wall structures. (C) 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.