Experimental Study on Seismic Performance of Through-Tenon Joints with Looseness in Ancient Timber Structures

In order to study the influence of looseness on seismic performance of through-tenon joints, six through-tenon joints specimens in 1:3.2 scale, including one tight-fitted joint and five loose joints, were fabricated according to the Engineering Fabrication Methods of Qing dynasty. The failure modes, mechanical behaviors such as the hysteresis and envelope curves, strength and stiffness degradations, energy dissipation, and deformation of the specimens under low cyclic reversed loading tests were analyzed. Results show that the failure modes of theses joints under positive and negative loadings are bending damage on the big tenon head and tearing damage on the variable cross-section, respectively. The hysteresis curves of joints appear to be anti-Z shape and present typical pinching effect. The greater the degree of looseness is, the more obvious the slippage is. The bending moment, stiffness and energy dissipation of loose joints are lower than those of the tight-fitted joint under the same rotation angle, and the increase in the loose degree cause them to gradually decrease. Meanwhile, the behavior of the through-tenon joints is further simulated by the nonlinear finite element analysis program, and the test results agree well with the numerical analysis results.