Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/3036
Date of Award
6-2025
Degree Name
MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department/Program
Civil and Environmental Engineering
College
College of Engineering
Advisor
Giovanni De Francesco
Advisor Department
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Advisor College
College of Engineering
Abstract
This thesis aims to evaluate the damages and economic losses in light-frame timber houses by designing and constructing a two-story, full-scale, fully equipped, code conforming timber assembly. Specifically, the structure will be analyzed based on how the non-structural components (NSC) like gypsum wallboard, interior doors, windows, and sliding patio doors as well as structural components like light-frame timber shear walls impact the economic losses.
Damage limit states were obtained from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) P-58, Performance Assessment of Buildings to extract at what inter-story drift (ISD) ratio each damage limit state was expected to occur at. Fragility and consequent probability functions were developed for the shear walls and NSC to find what the most probabilistic damage limit state was expected at varying hazard levels. From the consequent probability function, global economic losses estimate, and economic losses estimates for each component could be derived.
The thesis found that shear walls perform as intended as they do not see significant damage or economic losses until well after 2% ISD, where the likelihood of an earthquake causing ISD upwards of 3%-5% are extremely slim. The windows and sliding patio door are expected to perform excellently as they are expected to see even less damage and economic losses than the shear walls, which can be attributed to the material makeup and installation technique. The gypsum wallboard and interior doors were the two most fragile elements as they exceeded the most severe damage limit states and required near full replacement at 2% ISD.
This thesis also serves as a prediction for a planned dynamic test on a uniaxial shake table. This research analytically predicts the exceedance of damage limit states and economic losses at various hazard levels for the comparison to dynamic testing to improve the performance of non-structural components in light-frame timber houses.