ABSTRACT
Investigation of seismic performance of multi-storey timber buildings within the framework of the SERIES Project M. Piazza & R. Tomasi Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Italy ABSTRACT: The paper de scribes a proposal f or Transnational A ccess to Earthquake Engineering Research Centre (NESDE) a t LN EC (Laboratório N acional d e Eng enharia Civil, Lisbon, Portugal), within the framework of the SERIES Project. The aim is to verify, through full-scale shaking t able tests, t he ef fects of eart hquakes on some timber buildings characterized by the same geometry (three sto ries house s, 7 m x 5 m in plan), designed according to the state of the art of the t imber eng ineering, but built t hrough three dif ferent timber systems: pla tform frame system (PF), log house system (LH), cross laminated system (CLT). The project involves University of Trento, as Lead User of Transnational Access Use, University of Minho and University of Graz, and different industrial partners. The specimens have been accurately designed taking into account a ll the c ritical po int of th e different construction systems (connection details, the pr esence of open ings i n walls or i n floors, the effect of non-structural elements etc.), and taking advantages of prev ious research experiences of each of the team involved in the project. The paper illustrates the premises, the facts and the present state of this on-going research on earthquake resistant timber houses. 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Timber houses in seismic zones
Timber housing begins to be used extensively across Europe, because of many positive fac-tors such as the sustainability, the higher level of industrialization and prefabrication, the ease and speed of assembly etc. Traditional timber housing system, such as pla tform frame systems and log-house sy stem, and new type of wood co nstruction sys tem, such a s c rossed laminated timber, are now widely a dopted n ot only in northern Europ e Countries, bu t also in sou thern European Countries where the Seismic Risk is higher.
