Project contact is Luca Sorelli at Université Laval
Summary
This project aims to develop a new prefabricated wood / concrete floor system that is innovative and competitive in multi-storey wood buildings. The design of the floor will be carried out through a multidisciplinary approach that considers the composite action of the precast floor, the integration of sound insulation, vibrations, the weight of the structure, construction time and environmental impact. Among other things, the construction method and the use of ultra high performance green composite concretes with CLT slabs or GLULAM beams will be considered. The methodology includes digital analysis tools and a new method for the design of mixed structures as well as the life cycle tool. The laboratory proof of concept will assess the performance of the optimized floor system and compare it to existing floors.
As the state of Oregon begins to introduce a new cap and trade program to reduce the effects of its greenhouse gas emissions, the state has opted not to incorporate its largest greenhouse gas emitter; the timber industry. The decline of the timber industry after the 1980’s had lasting effects on disadvantaged communities, and state politicians have battled the cap and trade bill in fear of further deterioration of the timber industry. In this paper I aim to take an in depth look at the potential that CLT has in Oregon, how it can be promoted by the government, and what the environmental effects of it are. I found that, with the rise of mass timber construction and promotion of green building, the state has the opportunity to use revenues from its cap and trade program to economically incentivize CLT construction that can provide relief to economically stressed rural logging communities, all whole bolstering its efforts to better the environmental impact of an ever expanding construction industry.
Project contact is Luca Sorelli at Université Laval
Summary
To minimize the built-in energy of the floor, we need to replace the current system with lighter solutions that retain the key features for robustness and maintenance, and are cost-effective and easy to build (Spadea et al., 2015). This project aims to explore innovative flooring solutions that make up a light wood load-bearing structure reinforced underneath by naturally occurring polymeric fibers (FRP) (Bencardino and Condello 2016), which work well in tension, and above an Ultra-Thin Ultra High Performance Concrete Slab (UHPC) that works exceptionally well in compression. Considering the application of very large floors in multi-storey buildings, the following key questions will be addressed: 1) what form should such a system have, 2) how will this be analyzed, and what mode of failure will be desirable? (3) what practical limitations would be imposed by constructability, (4) what would be the gain on economic cost and environmental impact from a life cycle analysis point of view, and (5) is possible to use biosourced epoxy for connections. The methodology consists of: (i) systems analysis and shape optimization using finite element numerical techniques, (ii) connection shear tests, and (iii) proof of concept on a beam prototype.
