This technology is a factory-produced timber wall module consisting of a frame made of horizontal base plates, vertical columns, top plates, and studs, with panels split into upper and lower sections by horizontal cut lines attached to the front and back. The top and bottom of the vertical columns are connected to the horizontal plates via shear-deforming joints.
Traditional timber shear walls are built on-site by nailing wood and panels together, leading to significant quality variations based on worker skill and long construction times. While factory-produced modules and prefabricated shear wall connection structures have been proposed, there has been a lack of technical solutions that induce ductile deformation in the wall to absorb seismic energy during an earthquake.
This technology utilizes shaft-type shear connectors with reduced-section shear deformation parts at the base, or box-type shear connectors with opening boxes and anchor bolts. The upper joints feature U-shaped shear connectors with hollow shafts containing notched slits, all made of plastically deformable metal. Multiple slits are cut into the top and bottom of the panels to increase horizontal displacement, while ledges on the front and back of the columns and studs resist horizontal movement. Applicable to timber homes, small multi-unit housing, schools, community facilities, and prefab modular construction, this system concentrates seismic damage into replaceable metal joints to protect the wall structure, allowing for the installation of seismic walls simply by assembling modules on-site.
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