Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the lateral performance of timber-steel hybrid shear wall systems. Such systems are composed of steel moment-resisting frames and infill wood-frame shear walls. Monotonic and reversed cyclic tests of two full-scale timber-steel hybrid structures were conducted. There were three timber-steel hybrid shear wall systems in each structure. The lateral stiffness, lateral load capacities and hysteretic characteristics of the timber-steel hybrid shear wall systems with single- and double-sheathed infill wood-frame shear walls were investigated. The load sharing effect between the timber and the steel subsystems was studied. The test results showed that the installation of the infill wood-frame shear wall produced a significant increase in the initial lateral stiffness of the bare steel moment-resisting frame. The infill wood-frame shear walls were very effective in the initial stages of loading and absorbed a substantial part of the lateral load. However, once damage developed in the infill wood-frame shear walls, the lateral load was essentially resisted by the steel moment-resisting frames.