Lightweight timber framed walls: A review of the state of the art

Abstract

Due to the damage observed in timber structures during the 1994 Northridge earthquake, research focused on understanding, designing, and improving the seismic response of light-frame wood shear walls has experienced remarkable growth. This article presents a review of the state of the art on the study of these walls, presenting the innovations and findings found in the last decade based on experimental tests and numerical models, which are detailed in research articles found in the ScienceDirect database. Based on the available bibliometric information, the methodology indicated in the PRISMA statement has been adopted to determine works that are not of interest to this review; additionally, using the VOSviewer tool, bibliometric maps were made according to the authors found in the search for information. It should be noted that aspects of fire resistance or other environmental factors have been excluded in this work. At the end of the bibliography selection, the information is organized according to two aspects identified in the literature: experimental studies and numerical modeling of light-frame wood shear walls. These results are discussed later to indicate the most transcendental findings and, therefore, the lines of research to be explored in the future.