First considerations on the design approach and criteria for seismic resistant moment resisting and bracings timber frames

The recent development of timber structures, thanks to new materials more and more efficient from the mechanical point of view, allows the application, as seismic resistant systems, of both framed and braced multistory multispan timber structures, which are already well consolidated in the field of steel constructions, they offering excellent seismic performances. Although materials are different, the structural systems have the similarity to be assemblage of structural members connected each other. Therefore it is possible to apply the same seismic design approach, by transferring the knowhow from steel to timber structures and adapting the design rules to the peculiarities of timber. In particular the seismic design parameters are to be calibrated and the dissipative zones to be characterized, they being the connections themselves or specific dissipative devices. In this perspective the paper presents the first considerations on the seismic design of multistory moment resisting and braced timber structures.