TRANSFORMING A CORNER OF A LIGHT-FRAME WOOD STRUCTURE TO A SET OF NONLINEAR SPRINGS

The computational efficiency of a full-structure model for a light-fra me building is enhanced by replacing the continuum of the detailed con nections with rotational and translational nonlinear springs that are energetically equivalent between two bounds. This study examines the t ransformation from the physical exterior-wall-to-exterior-wall connect ion (a corner) of a light-frame wood structure, first, to a two-dimens ional finite-element model and, then, to a set of nonlinear springs. T ypical light-frame details are used as the starting point, and the pro duct is the characteristic moment-rotation and load displacement relat ionships for a 24-inch segment of the corner.