Wooden constructions are on the rise again – encouraged by a strong trend towards sustainable and resource efficient buildings. Load-bearing timber-glass composite elements – a novel concept to use the in-plane loadbearing potential of glass – could contribute to a more efficient use of materials in façades. The current study relates to the adhesive bond between the glass pane and the timber substructure. The applicability of structural sealants such as silicones is limited due to their distinct flexibility which leads to large deformations of the joint. Further potential arises from the use of adhesives of medium and high stiffness. Their general performance as well as their durability have not yet been evaluated with respect to the proposed use in building constructions. This paper draws attention to the ageing stability of two promising adhesives. Small-scale adhesively bonded specimens which are composed of a wooden and a glass piece are exposed to different ageing scenarios which relate to the impacts typically encountered in façades. Based on the results it can be concluded that the considered high-modules adhesives enable an increase of characteristic failure loads and a reduction of joint deformation, but also reveal shortcomings regarding their ageing stability.
Advanced Wood-Based Solutions for Mid-Rise and High-Rise Construction: In-Situ Testing of the Brock Commons 18-Storey Building for Vibration and Acoustic performances
This report addresses serviceability issues of tall wood buildings focusing on their vibration and sound insulation performance. The sound insulation and vibration performance may not affect the building’s safety, but affects the occupants’ comfort and the proper operation of the buildings and the function of sensitive equipment, consequently the acceptance of the midrise and tall wood buildings in market place. Lack of data, knowledge and experience of sound and vibration performance of tall wood buildings is one of the issues related to design and construction of tall wood buildings.
The measured and estimated values should also be correlated with actual experiences of the occupants in the building if such information is obtained, for example, through a survey.
Auburn University’s (AU) School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences (SFWS) in Alabama actively works to increase awareness of the benefits of CLT along with hybrid systems for more widespread adoption in multiple building segments. AU’s two-year project proposal outlines a plan that will establish a preliminary design for the usage of a timber-steel composite system, utilizing CLT or laminated veneer lumber (LVL), as an option that will replace reinforced concrete slabs to improve the structural performance for buildings six stories or more.
Project contact is Daniel Dowden at Michigan Technological University
Summary
This award will investigate a low-damage solution for cross-laminated timber (CLT) seismic force-resisting systems (SFRSs) using a novel uplift friction damper (UFD) device for seismically resilient mass-timber buildings. The UFD device will embrace the natural rocking wall behavior that is expected in tall CLT buildings, provide stable energy dissipation, and exhibit self-centering characteristics. Structural repair of buildings with these devices is expected to be minimal after a design level earthquake. Although CLT has emerged as a construction material that has revitalized the timber industry, there exists a lack of CLT-specific seismic energy dissipation devices that can integrate holistically with the natural kinematics of CLT-based SFRSs. CLT wall panels themselves do not provide any measurable seismic energy dissipation. As a payload to the large-scale, ten-story CLT building specimen to be tested on the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) shake table at the University of California, San Diego, as part of NSF award 1636164, “Collaborative Research: A Resilience-based Seismic Design Methodology for Tall Wood Buildings,” this project will conduct a series of tests with the UFD devices installed on the CLT building specimen. These tests will bridge analytical and numerical models with the high fidelity test data collected with realistic boundary and earthquake loading conditions. The calibrated models will be incorporated in a probabilistic numerical framework to establish a design methodology for seismically resilient tall wood buildings, leading to a more diverse and eco-sustainable urban landscape. This project will provide local elementary school outreach activities, integrate participation of undergraduate minorities and underrepresented groups into the research activities, and foster graduate level curriculum innovations. Project data will be archived and made available publicly in the NSF-supported NHERI Data Depot (https://www.DesignSafe-CI.org). This award contributes to NSF's role in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP).
The research objectives of this payload project are to: 1) bridge the fundamental mechanistic UFD models linking analytical and numerical models necessary for seismic response prediction of seismically resilient CLT-based SFRSs, 2) characterize the fundamental dynamic UFD behavior with validation and calibration through large-scale tests with realistic boundary conditions and earthquake loadings, and 3) integrate low-damage, friction-based damping system alternatives within a resilience-based seismic design methodology for tall wood buildings. To achieve these objectives, the test data collected will provide a critical pathway to reliably establish numerical and analytical models that extend the shake table test results to a broad range of archetype buildings. The seismic performance of mass-timber archetype building systems will be established through collapse risk assessment using incremental dynamic analyses. This will provide a first step in the longer term goal of establishing code-based seismic performance factors for CLT-based SFRSs.
Advanced sustainable lateral load resisting systems that combine ductile and recyclable materials offer a viable solution to resist seismic load effects in environmentally responsible ways. This paper presents the seismic response of a post-tensioned timber-steel hybrid braced frame. This hybrid system combines glulam frame with steel braces to improve lateral stiffness while providing self-centreing capability under seismic loads. The proposed system is first presented. A detailed numerical model of the proposed system is then developed with emphasis on the connections and inelastic response of bracing members. Various types of braced frames including diagonal, cross and chevron configurations are numerically examined to assess the viability of the proposed concept and to confirm the efficiency of the system. A summary of initial findings is presented to demonstrate usefulness of the hybrid system. The results demonstrate that the proposed system increases overall lateral stiffness and ductility while still being able to achieve self-centring. Some additional information on connection details are provided for implementation in practical structures. The braced-frame solution is expected to widen options for lateral load resisting systems for mid-to-high-rise buildings.
This study on Circular Economy & the Built Environment Sector in Canada was carried out by The Delphi Group in collaboration with Scius Advisory and completed in March 2021 on behalf of Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd. (FII) in British Columbia and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) as the co-sponsors for the research. The work identifies a broad range of current efforts across Canada and undertakes a deeper dive on design for disassembly and adaptability (DfD/A) best practices, including an analysis of the ISO Standard 20887:2020 (i.e., design for disassembly and adaptability) in line with current Canadian industry practice and market readiness.
This paper presents a finite element modeling case study of three different designs of hybrid timber-steel 6-story buildings. One of the buildings is composed by steel frames and timber diaphragms while the other two cases consist of the initial design with timber shear walls added in different dispositions, one with outer walls and the other...
The present work aims to define horizontal joint dimension tolerances for newly proposed prefabricated façade systems for applications in tall cross laminated timber (CLT) buildings based on the compression perpendicular to grain characteristics of the component. This requires a thorough understanding of structural settlement under vertical loads which can vary at each floor height. An experimental program has been carried out with reference to the case of a platform frame building construction, where major perpendicular to grain compression of the floor can occur under high loads. Five-layer CLT specimens have been tested under compression via the application of a line load with steel plate as well as actual CLT wall specimens. Strengthening contribution using full threaded self-tapping wood screws has also been investigated. Results of deformation characteristics have been validated through a non-linear finite element analysis and further elaborated in order to outline implications in the design of a prefabricated façade.
