FRACTURE ANALYSIS OF CROSS LAMINATED TIMBER SHEAR-WALLS WITH OPENINGS

Strength capacity and deformation contributions of Cross Laminated Timber shearwalls with no openings are primarily governed by the behaviour of the connections. However, a considerably different behaviour and failure mechanism can be expected when openings are cut out of the shearwall panels - i.e. Monolithic Shear Walls. This paper aims to investigate the contribution of lintels and parapets on the mechanical behaviour of monolithic CLT shearwall assemblies with openings. The Abaqus software package was used to numerically investigate the racking resistance by using the extended finite element method (XFEM). A parametric study was performed on different configurations of two-storey CLT shearwalls with openings. The failure conditions related to either the CLT panels or mechanical anchors were taken into account in the analyses. The results showed that the strength and stiffness of shearwalls where openings are cut off the panel are significantly greater than those obtained for shearwalls assembled with separated elements - i.e. Segmented Shear Walls. The increase in strength and stiffness is particularly pronounced in the case of window openings.