Design and Cyclic Testing of Bolted End Plate Connections between Steel Link Beams and Clt for Coupled Shear Walls

Coupled CLT wall systems with ductile steel link beams offer an efficient lateral load resisting system for buildings in earthquake-prone regions. This study proposes a type of beam to CLT wall connection using a bolted end plate in a notched CLT panel edge to create a semi-rigid joint. A simplified analytical method is proposed to predict the connection’s strength and is compared against the results of full-scale experiments. The experimentally obtained strengths were all greater than the predictions from the proposed method. Therefore, the method was conservative and is suitable for designing similar connections in coupled wall systems. The final specimen in the test programme was capacity designed and its cyclic test results demonstrated adequate connection strength for the 200mm-deep wide flange link beam to reach its maximum strength while dissipating large amounts of energy through steel yielding and showing negligible connection damage. The bolted end plate connection appears to be a practical solution for applications in coupled CLT shear walls.