Shear spring model proposed for seismic evaluation of a timber framed masonry infilled wall

Masonry infilled timber frames (TFM) are widely used for residential houses in many countries in the world. Last two decades’ seismic events showed that this typology is resilient for earthquakes, and even though it exhibits damages, it rarely collapses. For developing countries, TFM is a valid solution for life protection of the inhabitants. Interaction between timber and masonry is difficult to assess and although numerical models simulate roughly the seismic behavior of TFM, they need expensive resources (time and software) to reach acceptable accuracy level. For this reason, this study proposes a simplified seismic evaluation method for timber framed masonry walls, based on a shear spring model calibrated with experimental result. The resulting envelope curve simulates satisfactorily the initial stiffness and maximum strength.