Linear vs nonlinear structural vibration behavior of steel-timber composite building elements

Composite structures including wood are increasingly coming into focus due to rising demand for sustainability and, at the same time, high-rise buildings, and long-span components. In this context, steel-timber hybrid building elements are gaining more attention since they offer sufficient load-carrying properties. However, such lightweight structures increase vibration levels and sound transmission. Accurate understanding of the structures is therefore indispensable. Consequently, herein, a novel steel-timber composite building element is studied concerning its vibrational behavior numerically and experimentally. Especially the influence of the joints between steel and timber components is investigated by considering nonlinear behavior due to frictional effects. Therefore, amplitude-dependency regarding eigenfrequencies and damping properties as well as multi-harmonic responses are studied. Hence, nonlinearities are revealed by slight amplitude-dependency and the occurrence of higher harmonics.