Seismic Performance and Damage Risk of Modular CLT Housing Using Nonlinear Time History Analysis

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dc.contributor.authorChininin, Javier Andresen
dc.contributor.committeechairPhillips, Adam Richarden
dc.contributor.committeememberRodriguez-Marek, Adrianen
dc.contributor.committeememberEatherton, Matthew Royen
dc.contributor.departmentCivil and Environmental Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-11T09:00:54Zen
dc.date.available2025-01-11T09:00:54Zen
dc.date.issued2025-01-10en
dc.description.abstractThe United States (U.S.) faces significant housing challenges, including a shortage of affordable housing and high rates of homelessness. This, combined with the pursuit of sustainable and resilient communities, has positioned Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) modular structures as a promising alternative due to their environmental, mechanical, and prefabrication advantages. However, a comprehensive study of their seismic performance and risk across the U.S. is needed to establish CLT modular construction as a resilient housing option. Therefore, this thesis assesses the seismic risk and performance of five modular CLT houses, studying (i) the variability of their collapse fragility curves across the U.S., (ii) the conditional probability of collapse under Maximum Considered Earthquake (MCE) intensities, and (iii) the unconditional probabilities of experiencing non-structural damage and collapse within 50 years for ten representative locations. The houses use the latest platform-constructed CLT shear wall lateral-force resisting system included in ASCE 7-22 (2022) and were designed using prescriptive code-based methods to represent a feasible construction alternative. The analyses were conducted under the performance-based earthquake engineering framework. Ground motion data sets were established for three seismic regions: (1) Western U.S. with forward-directivity pulses, (2) Western U.S. without forward-directivity pulses, and (3) Central and Eastern U.S. Numerical models for each house were developed and calibrated using OpenSees to perform nonlinear static and time history analyses. The Multiple Stripe Analysis procedure was used to derive the conditional probability of collapse fragility curves and interstory drift distributions, which, along with generic damage fragilities and seismic hazard curves, estimated the probabilities of non-structural damage and collapse within 50 years at representative locations. The results indicate that differences in ground motion characteristics, including pulse-like motions, do not significantly impact the collapse fragility curves. All houses satisfy the ASCE 7-22 (2022) target of a 10% conditional probability of collapse at MCE intensity. Expected non-structural damage is within acceptable limits compared to common performance objectives. Increasing house strength does not significantly enhance performance in non-structural damage states, as performance is primarily influenced by the hazard curve of the location. The unconditional probability of collapse within 50 years remains conservatively low, satisfying the ASCE 7-22 (2022) performance objective of a 1% probability of collapse within 50 years. In summary, the consistent behavior, low collapse risk, acceptable non-structural damage levels, and potential improvements through performance-based design make modular CLT houses a reliable, resilient, and high-performance seismic housing alternative in the U.S.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralThe United States (U.S.) faces significant housing challenges, including a shortage of affordable housing and high rates of homelessness. These, along with the pursuit of sustainability and resilience against natural disasters in communities, positioned modular Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) structures as a promising alternative. CLT consists of wood panels that are environmentally friendly, strong, and suitable for prefabrication. They enable prefabrication in parts (modules) of entire homes that can be easily assembled at construction sites. Understanding their behavior during seismic events is crucial to determine whether they can resist collapse and minimize damage that causes economic losses. Ground motions in the Western U.S. differ from those in the Central and Eastern U.S., affecting structures in distinct ways. To assess these effects, computer simulations are used to calculate and compare the probability of modular CLT houses collapsing in these regions. Additionally, the study estimates the probability of these houses experiencing damage and collapse in 50 years when constructed at ten different locations. The results show the houses perform satisfactorily and consistently under seismic events and can constitute a viable alternative for housing in the U.S. Differences in earthquake characteristics across the country do not significantly affect the safety of CLT modular houses. They meet and often exceed the safety standards set by building codes for collapse under seismic events. Additionally, any expected damage is also within acceptable limits. This makes them a high-quality alternative for earthquake-resistant housing.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:42420en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/124156en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectCross-laminated timberen
dc.subjectmodular housingen
dc.subjectperformance-based earthquake engineeringen
dc.subjectstructural resilienceen
dc.titleSeismic Performance and Damage Risk of Modular CLT Housing Using Nonlinear Time History Analysisen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineCivil Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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