Experimental Study of Seismic Performance of Zhutou Puzuo with ‘Ang’ Under Different Vertical Loads

Study of seismic behavior of Zhutou Puzuo with ‘Ang’ lays critical foundations for understanding the seismic performance of Yingxian Wood Pagoda. To explore deforming behavior and seismic performance of Puzuo with ‘Ang’, two scaled models derived from Yingxian Wood Pagoda at 1:3.7 were designed and manufactured. Low cyclic-reversed loading experiments under different vertical loads were carried out. Based on the analysis of hysteretic curve, skeleton curve and equivalent viscous damping coefficient, it was found out that the effects on the above relevant index and deforming behaviors of different loads as following: Increasing vertical load hardly changed deformation features of this kind of Puzuo, but it resulted in much more asymmetric performance in hysteretic curve and remarkable improvement on all of Puzuo’s relative properties. In detail, the increasement of 3.7 times of vertical load enlarged load-carrying capacity under both of positive and negative direction, initial stiffness and consumption of energy at times of 2.2, 2.9, 2.4 and 3.0 respectively. In addition, raising vertical load changed the position where the initial slip occurred at early stage of test. But it changed neither mode of accumulating slip nor the weaken positions. However, the Puzuo’s finial slip pattern remained similar, which it mainly performed as slipping between the First Huagong and Second Huagong. The relevant research results offered reference about studying on seismic performance of Yingxian Wood Pagoda.