Preliminary Classification and Modeling of the Hysteretic Behavior of Connections in Timber Structures

Timber connections are crucial to guarantee structural integrity and performance in timber structures, especially under cyclic loading scenarios such as those induced by earthquakes and winds. In addition, understanding the hysteretic behavior exhibited by these connections is essential to accurately predict their response. Researchers typically perform experimental tests to investigate the behavior of various types of connections; the latter typically exhibit different types of hysteresis loop shapes which, consequently, provide different values of stiffness, strength, and energy dissipation. This study aims to categorize and simulate such hysteresis loop shapes by using a recent phenomenological hysteresis model formulated by Vaiana and Rosati. The proposed approach also enables the deduction of crucial information, such as secant stiffness, equivalent damping ratio, and energy dissipation, which are relevant for simplifying the dynamic analysis of timber structures.