• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.90 no.5
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• pp.447-458
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• 2024

This study investigated the influence of scale ratio and vertical load on the seismic performance of Puzuo joints in traditional Chinese timber structures. Three low-cyclic reversed loading tests were conducted on three scaled specimens of Bujian Puzuo in Yingxian Wooden Pagoda. This study focused on the deformation patterns and analyzed seismic performance under varying scale ratios and vertical loads. The results indicated that the slip and rotational deformations of Bujian Puzuo were the primary deformations. The scale of the specimen did not affect the layer where the maximum interlayer slip occurred, but it did decrease the proportion of slip deformation. Conversely, the reducing vertical load caused the layer with the maximum slippage and the position of the damaged Dou components to shift upward, and the proportion of slip deformation increased. When the vertical load was decreased by 3.7 times, the maximum horizontal bearing capacity under positive and negative loadings, initial stiffness, and energy dissipation of the specimen decreased by approximately 60%, 58.79%, 69.62%, and 57.93%, respectively. The horizontal bearing capacity under positive loading and energy dissipation of the specimen increased by 35.63% and 131.54%, when the specimen scale was doubled and the vertical load was increased by 15 times.