Ancient Chinese Timber Architecture. I: Experimental Study

TLDR

Ancient Chinese timber architecture has retained a unique construction system from prehistoric times and now faces environmental encroachment that threatens its structural integrity, making preservation urgent. The study aimed to document the fundamental characteristics of timber structures for research and preservation by conducting on‑site measurements and model tests on the front tower of Xi'an City Wall. Full‑scale on‑site vibration tests were performed on the tower, complemented by multipoint excitation tests on wooden and Perspex models to capture its modal behavior. The tests revealed the tower’s first four natural frequencies (1.10, 1.70, 2.73, and 3.10 Hz), confirmed that the first two modes matched the full‑scale measurements, and provided additional data such as damping ratios and hysteresis curves.

Abstract

As an important part of the civilization in China, ancient Chinese architecture has an indigenous and unique system of construction that has retained its principal characteristics from prehistoric times to the present and spread its influence to other countries such as Korea and Japan. With the exacerbating environmental encroachment and time impacts that have been reducing their structural resistance, it has become imperative to preserve this architectural heritage. To provide the basic characteristics of the timber structures as fundamental information for research and preservation, on-site measurements and model tests were conducted on the front tower over the North Gate of the Xi'an City Wall. In the full-scale on-site tests, the vibration modes of the tower were measured. The first four natural frequencies of the structure were found to be 1.10, 1.70, 2.73, and 3.10 Hz, respectively. Multipoint excitation tests on wooden and polymethyl methacrylate (Perspex) models validate that the first and second modes obtained by the on-site full-scale test are the vibration modes of the tower. Many other valuable data and information were obtained through the tests, such as the damping ratio and the hysteresis curves.