A novel timber composite is presented, consisting of glued laminated timber (GLT) from softwoods and intercalated cross-layered plates of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) made of hardwood species, specifically beech. The structure is especially suited for beams with multiple, large rectangular holes, where the LVL acts as a highly efficient internal reinforcement and contributes to a damage-tolerant ultimate load behavior. The load capacity of the composite beam is not induced by the stress concentrations at the corners of the hole, which, in contrast to generic GLT, lead to a sudden propagation of cracks and brittle failure. It is shown that the structure, including the holes, can be designed analytically in a transparent manner by using beam theory, a parallel system approach, and modifications from FEM analysis for the verification of tensile forces at the hole periphery. The composite, firstly used in a recent multi-story building in Australia, significantly improves the competitiveness of timber in building works, which have been limited to steel and reinforced concrete structures.
This paper describes an experimental test program and theoretical analysis which examines the reinforcing in flexure of glued laminated timber (glulam) beams using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) and steel materials. A series of four-point bending tests were conducted till failure on both unreinforced and reinforced Douglas fir glulam beams in a simply-supported scheme. The focus of this research was to evaluate the effects of reinforcing materials, reinforcement ratio and arrangement on the flexural behavior. Test results showed that the flexural capacity, flexural global stiffness and timber tensile strain at failure were all improved considerably for reinforced timber beams when compared to the unreinforced control beams, in which the average improvement reached 56.3%, 27.5% and 49.4%, respectively. On the bases of the experimental results, a theoretical model was proposed to predict the flexural capacity and flexural stiffness of the reinforced timber beams. Most of the differences between theoretical and experimental results for both flexural capacity and flexural stiffness were within 10.0%, which showed a high accuracy of the proposed model. Subsequently a parametric analysis, which includes the axial stiffness ratio of reinforcement to timber, the relative location of tensile reinforcement, and the strength ratio of reinforced timber between flexural tension and compression, was undertaken to investigate the effects of the influential factors for both flexural capacity and flexural stiffness.
In this paper, results of flexure tests aimed at improving the structural behavior of softwood beams reinforced with unglued composite plates and at developing an effective alternative to the use of organic resins are presented. The addition of modest ratios of GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer) composite strengthening can prevent tension failure in timber beams. However the application of organic matrices presents problems of reversibility, compatibility and durability with timber and poor performance at high temperatures. The increment in capacity and stiffness and the analysis of the failure modes is the central focus of this paper. The experimental campaign is dealing with a significant number of un-reinforced and reinforced beams strengthened with unbonded GFRP plates. A 3-dimensional finite element model is also presented for simulating the non-linear behavior of GFRP-reinforced softwood beams. The ability of the numerical model to reproduce experimental results for the load–deflection curves is validated.
A study on the static and dynamic properties of sawn timber beams reinforced with glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) is reported in this paper. The experimental program is focused on the behavior of unidirectional wooden slabs, and the main objective is to fulfill the service state limit upon vibrations using GFRP when an architectonical retrofitting project is necessary. Two different typologies of reinforcement were evaluated on pine wood beams: one applied the composite only on the lower side of the beams, while the other also covered half of the beams depth. For the dynamic characterization, the natural frequency, damping ratio, and dynamic elastic modulus were measured using two different techniques: experimental modal analysis upon the whole beams; and bandwidth method using smaller samples of the same material. The static characterization consisted on four point bending tests, where elastic modulus, bending strength and ductility were assessed. The lower composite had better ductility and bending strength. On the other hand, the U-shaped laminate showed higher stiffness but also at a higher material cost. However, it allowed some ductility, i.e. compressive plasticity, even in the presence of hidden knots. Both dynamic techniques gave similar results and were capable of measuring the structure stiffness, even if short samples were used. Finally, the changes on dynamic properties because of the GFRP did not jeopardize the dynamic performance of the reinforced timber beams.
Timber beams can effectively be reinforced using externally bonded fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. This paper describes a nonlinear 3-dimensional finite element model which was developed in order to accurately simulate the bending behaviour of unreinforced and carbon FRP plate reinforced glulam beams. The model incorporates suitable constitutive relationship for each material and utilises anisotropic plasticity theory for timber in compression. Failure of beams was modelled based on the maximum stress criterion. The results of the finite element analysis showed a good agreement with experimental findings for load-deflection behaviour, stiffness, ultimate load carrying capacity and strain profile distribution of unreinforced and reinforced beams. The proposed model can be used to examine the effect of different geometries or materials on the mechanical performance of reinforced system.
Norway spruce glulam beams with artificial horizontal slits of different length and depth were reinforced using self-tapping screws and threaded steel rods in order to restore their load-carrying capacity and stiffness. The study aimed at evaluating the effects of strength and stiffness of the applied reinforcing elements on the load-carrying capacity and stiffness of glulam beams after retrofitting. Self-tapping screws and threaded steel rods of different diameter have been evaluated in the study and different numbers of reinforcing elements have been applied. Shear failure of the beams with artificial slits of different depth was provoked in loading cycles with stepwise installation of the reinforcing elements in the beam parts failed in the preceding test. The reinforcing effect of the tested self-tapping screws and threaded steel rods reached and partly exceeded the estimated level calculated with selected analytical models. Unfavourable structural behaviour arose in some cases from crack opening during installation of the rods causing a very low initial stiffness. Comparison of test results to calculations of stiffness and load-carrying capacity of the reinforced beams applying the -method, the shear analogy method and a truss model revealed that the -method and the shear analogy method provided the best estimates of strength / stiffness of the reinforced beams.
The reinforcement of timber elements using fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) rods or plates is widely accepted as an effective method of increasing the strength and stiffness of members. The short-term behaviour of these reinforced members is relatively well understood, however, the long-term or creep behaviour of such members has received less attention. The objectives of the present work are to determine the long-term performance of reinforced timber beams under sustained loading and constant climate conditions. Timber is a viscoelastic material so its deformation response is a combination of both elastic and viscous components. This viscous creep component is defined as a deformation with time at constant stress and at constant environmental conditions. Sitka spruce is the most widely grown specie in Ireland and is the focus of this study. Glued Laminated (Glulam) beams were manufactured from Sitka spruce and a selected portion of them were reinforced with basalt-fibre reinforced polymer (BFRP) rods. The short-term flexural testing of these beams in their unreinforced and reinforced state demonstrated a significant increase in stiffness with a modest percentage reinforcement ratio. The long-term flexural testing required the design of a creep test frame to implement a constant stress of 8 MPa on the compression face of an equal proportion of unreinforced and reinforced beams. The long-term strain and deflection results for the first 52 weeks of testing are presented. The reinforcement was found to have an insignificant impact on the creep deflection but the maximum tensile creep strain was significantly reduced.
In order to study the lateral resistance of reinforced glued-laminated timber post and beam structures, nine cyclic tests on full-scale one-storey, one-bay timber post and beam construction specimens were carried out. Two reinforcement methods (wrapping fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) and implanting self-tapping screws) and two structural systems (simple frame and knee-braced frame) were considered in the experimental tests. Based on the experimental phenomena and test results, feasibility of the reinforcement was discussed, contribution between different methods was evaluated, and the seismic performances of the specimens were studied. Results showed that both the two reinforcement methods could restrain the development of crack, and recover the strength, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity. It also showed that the lateral resistance could be improved significantly when the failed simple frame retrofitted by reinforcing the joint and adding knee-brace, and this approach can be very practical in engineering.
The usage of holes in glulam and LVL beams is a common practice in timber constructions and requires in many cases the application of reinforcement. At present, Eurocode 5 does not contain design rules for holes, nor for their reinforcement, which are, however, regulated in the German National Annex to EC5. Although it has been proven that internal rod-like reinforcements improve the shear force capacity of a beam with holes, several problems still remain, particularly the inability to successfully reduce peak stresses at the periphery of the hole, especially shear stresses. Inclined internal steel rod reinforcements were studied and compared with vertically oriented rods, which is currently the only regulated application. The analysis revealed a reduction of both perpendicular to grain tensile stresses and shear stresses, which for the case of vertical rods are not reduced at all. A first attempt at the design of such inclined reinforcements was made by deriving an equation based on the results from FEM simulations. The design approach was then applied to an example case. Experimental verification of the theoretical observations is still necessary and ongoing, though a very promising approach for an improved internal reinforcement and its respective design can already be observed.
Within this paper a comparison of different reinforcement concepts for timber beams with round holes is carried out. Therefore currently applied standardized methods and two recently developed approaches are considered. By means of numerical and analytical investigations it becomes apparent that the analysed reinforcement methods divergent to those given in current standards have great potential: shear stresses as well as tensile stresses perpendicular to the grain in the critical areas around the beam opening can be reduced significantly. Hence, the maximum load carrying capacities of the new reinforcement concepts supposedly exceed the standardized ones considerably. For verification of the results experimental investigations on beams with different reinforcement methods are planned.
