There is a need of more advanced analysis for studying how the long-term behaviour of glued laminated timber structures is affected by creep and by cyclic variations in climate. A beam theory is presented able to simulate the overall hygro-mechanical and visco-elastic behaviour of (inhomogeneous) glulam structures. Two frame structures subjected to both mechanical and cyclic environmental loading are analysed to illustrate the advantages the model involved can provide. The results indicate clearly both the (discontinuous) inhomogeneity of the glulam products and the variable moisture-load action that occurs to have a significant effect on deformations, section forces and stress distributions within the frame structures that were studied
Hybrid composite glulam timber reinforced using deformed steel bars and epoxy resin adhesive (RGTSB), was significantly developed in Kagoshima University. A long term laboratory investigation on a 4.5-meter-span hybrid timber beam and a non-hybrid timber beam was started from August 2011. The beam was made of RGTSB and another was of conventional glulam timber...
Creep and duration of load characteristics of cross laminated timber (CLT) were evaluated from the test results of creep and duration of tests. Japanese Ceder (Cryptomeria japonica) was chosen for the specie for the laminations of the test specimens and API was chosen for the adhesive. The results are summarized as follows: (1) The creep factor [i.e. (Initial deflection + Creep deflection) / Initial deflection] for CLT was evaluated to be 2.0 and was almost equivalent to the creep factor commonly known for solid lumber. (2) The duration of load factor [i.e. Strength for 50 years duration of load / Strength for 10 minutes duration of load] of CLT was evaluated to be 0.66 and was almost equivalent to the duration of load factor measured for solid lumbers.
Project contact is Mariapaola Riggio at Oregon State University
Summary
Earthquake engineers are focusing on performance-based design solutions that minimize damage, downtime, and dollars spent on repairs by designing buildings that have no residual drift or “leaning” after an event. The development of timber post-tensioned (PT), self-centering rocking shear walls addresses this high-performance demand. The system works by inserting unbonded steel rods or tendons into timber elements that are prestressed to provide a compressive force on the timber, which will pull the structure back into place after a strong horizontal action. But, because these systems are less than fifteen years old with just four real-world applications, little information is known regarding best practices and optimal methods for engineering design, construction and/or tensioning procedures, and long-term maintenance considerations. This project intends to contribute knowledge by testing both cross-laminated timber (CLT) and mass plywood panel (MPP) walls through testing of anchorage detailing, investigating tensioning procedures for construction, determining the contributions of creep on prestress loss over time, and comparing all laboratory test data to monitoring data from three of the four buildings in which this technology has been implemented, one of which is George W. Peavy Hall at Oregon State University. This will be accomplished by testing small- and full-scale specimens in the A.A. “Red” Emmerson Advanced Wood Products Laboratory, and small-scale specimens in an environmental chamber.
Project contact is Sylvain Ménard at Université Laval
Summary
Designers of large buildings generally want floor systems with large spans (9 m). These floors are often sized by the requirement of vibratory performance and, correlatively, deflection. The composite wood-concrete floors allow large spans with reduced static height. They are a promising alternative to simple concrete slabs. Objective 1 - Determine the evolution of the natural frequency of the CLT-concrete composite floor as a function of the stiffness of the connector, and correlate the experimental results with the model by the finite element method. Objective 2 - Parametric study of the vibration performance of the CLT-concrete composite floor. The impact of several parameters on the dynamic performance of the floor will be determined, especially the characteristics of the constituent materials, connector and the creep of the floor. Objective 3 - Build the metamodels for the study of multi-objective optimization optimization of a wood-concrete composite floor solution in relation to a regional problem in Aquitaine.
Recent studies showed the need for timber connections with high fire performance. Connections of members in timber structures commonly comprise steel connectors, such as dowels, screws, nails and toothed plates. However, multiple studies have shown that the presence of exposed metal in timber connections leads to a poor performance under fire conditions. Replacing metallic fasteners with non-metallic fasteners potentially enhances the fire performance of timber connections. Previous studies showed that Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) dowels can be a viable replacement for steel dowels and that Densified Veneer Wood functions well as a flitch plate material. However, as the resin matrix of GFRP dowels is viscoelastic, connection creep, which is not studied before, can be of concern. Also no research has been carried out on the fire performance of these connections. Therefore, a study of the creep behaviour and the fire performance of non-metallic timber connections comprising GFRP dowels and a Densified Veneer Wood flitch plate was performed, as is discussed in this thesis. Predictive models were proposed to determine the connection slip and load bearing capacity at ambient and elevated temperatures and in a fire. The material properties and heat transfer properties required for these models were determined experimentally and predictions of these models were experimentally validated. Furthermore, an adjustment of the predictive model of connection slip at ambient temperature allowed approximating the creep of the connection. The material properties, required for the creep model, were determined experimentally and predictions of the model were compared to results of longterm connection tests. The study confirmed that timber members jointed with non-metallic connectors have a significantly improved fire performance to timber joints using metallic connections. Models developed and proposed to predict fire performance gave accurate predictions of time to failure. It was concluded that non-metallic connections showed more creep per load per connector, than metallic connections. However, the ratio between initial deflection and creep (relative creep) and the ratio between load level and creep were shown to be similar for metallic and non-metallic connections.
