Preliminary assessment of PreWEC-like systems made by cross-laminated timber panels and steel columns

In recent years many types of seismic-resistant structural systems have been developed to improve resilience through self-centering ability. One of such system for reinforced concrete buildings is the “Precast Wall with End Columns” system (PreWEC). Starting from this concept, various studies have been carried out to evaluate the possibility of adopting a mixed system with steel columns and cross laminated timber walls. Previous experimental tests have highlighted the difficulty of cross laminated timber walls to cope with the compressive stresses arising during the rocking motion. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the potential benefits of adopting a PreWEC-like system made by cross laminated timber panels connected to steel columns in a building with light-weight composite steel-timber floors. The design procedure considered herein follows a displacement-based design approach and a validation by means of non-linear analyses. A case study resembling a 5-storey building located in a region of high seismicity was selected. A comparative study between the timber-steel and classical PreWEC system was performed, accompanied by along a Life Cycle Assessment “from cradle to gate”. The results highlight the suitability of PreWEC-like systems with cross laminated timber panels and steel columns and the conservative results in terms of roof drift obtained from the selected design procedure. In addition, the embodied environmental impact of the analyzed timber structural systems is also lower than the traditional reinforced concrete one in most of the assessed impact indicators.