Experimental seismic performance evaluation of modular lightweight steel buildings within the ELISSA project

Lightweight steel buildings made up by cold formed steel (CFS) members as main structural components are growing in popularity in the most industrialized countries. CFS buildings start to be adopted also in seismic regions thanks to their efficient fabrication, reduced site work, short time of construction and good structural performance. However, the dynamic properties and full seismic performance of CFS buildings completed with finishing is an open question. This paper attempts to provide a contribution to this research question, by a full experimental campaign aiming at investigating the dynamic properties of a modular building developed within the “Energy efficient LIghtweight Sustainable SAfe steel construction” (ELISSA) research project. The work shows the results of an international collaboration between universities and industrial partners aimed at developing a CFS prefabricated dry construction system with improved anti-seismic properties and energy performance. This work will discuss the design of the modular building named ELISSA house, the experimental investigation going from small scale tests of components, to static tests of shear walls, up to shake table tests of a two storey Mock-up building. It will analyse the dynamic properties of the structural system compared to the building completed with all the finishing, focusing on fundamental period of vibration, damping ratio, building drift and observed damage.