The fiber-reinforced polymer is one kind of composite material made of synthetic fiber and resin, which has attracted research interests for the reinforcement of timber elements. In this study, 18 glued-laminated (glulam) beams, unreinforced or reinforced with internally embedded carbon fiber–reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets, were tested under four-point bending loads. For the reinforced glulam beams, the influences of the strengthening ratio, the modulus of elasticity of the CFRP, and the CFRP arrangement on their bending performance were experimentally investigated. Subsequently, a finite element model developed was verified with the experimental results; furthermore, a general theoretical model considering the typical tensile failure mode was employed to predict the bending–resisting capacities of the reinforced glulam beams. It is found that the reinforced glulam beams are featured with relatively ductile bending failure, compared to the brittle tensile failure of the unreinforced ones. Besides, the compressive properties of the uppermost grain of the glulam can be fully utilized in the CFRP-reinforced beams. For the beams with a 0.040% strengthening ratio, the bending–resisting capacity and the maximum deflection can be enhanced approximately by 6.51 and 12.02%, respectively. The difference between the experimental results and the numerical results and that between the experimental results and analytical results are within 20 and 10%, respectively.
Hybrid composite glulam timber reinforced using deformed steel bars and epoxy resin adhesive (RGTSB), was significantly developed in Kagoshima University. In this paper, a beam-to-beam connection for RGTSB and experimental data on the connection are presented. Two 2:3-scaled simply-supported beams under four-point flexural bending in short-term loading, connection elements under short and long-term tension loading were tested. The connection for RGTSB beam performed on bending behaviour such as non-connection RGTSB beam, especially better on ductility.
Over the last two decades many constitutive models with different degrees of accuracy have been developed for analysis of sawn timber and engineered wood products. However, most of the existing models for analysis of timber members are not particularly practical to implement, owing to the large number of material properties (and associated testing) required for calibration of the constitutive law. In order to overcome this limitation, this paper presents details of 1D, 2D and 3D non-linear fi nite element (FE) models that take advantage of a quasi-brittle material model, requiring a minimum number of material properties to capture the load-defl ection response and failure load of timber beams under 4-point bending. In order to validate the model, four tapered timber piles with circular cross-section (two plains and two retrofi tted with steel jacket) were tested and analysed with the proposed 3D FE modelling technique; and a good correlation between experimentally observed and numerically captured ultimate load was observed. Consequently, it was concluded that the developed FE models used in conjunction with the quasi-brittle constitutive law were able to adequately capture the failure load and load-defl ection response of the fl exural timber elements.
Bending tests were conducted with cross laminated timber (CLT) panels made using an alternating layer arrangement. Boards of Norway spruce were used to manufacture five-layer panels on an industrial CLT production line. In total, 20 samples were tested, consisting of two CLT configurations with 10 samples of each type: transverse layers at 45° and the conventional 90° arrangement. Sample dimensions were 95 mm × 590 mm × 2000 mm. The CLT panels were tested by four point bending in the main load-carrying direction in a flatwise panel layup. The results indicated that bending strength increased by 35% for elements assembled with 45° layers in comparison with 90° layers. Improved mechanical load bearing panel properties could lead to a larger span length with less material.
At the Institute of Structural Engineering at the ETH Zurich numerous of investigations are conducted to analyse the load bearing capacity of glued laminated timber beams. The investigations are part of the research project ’Influence of varying material properties on the load bearing capacity of glued laminated timber (glulam)’. The investigations are taking place on 24 glulam beams with well-known material properties. The glulam beams are fabricated out of 400 timber boards. From those boards the material properties are investigated non-destructively within a former research project. During the glulam fabrication it is particularly focused to keep the information of the timber boards; i.e. after the glulam fabrication the position of each particular timber board within the glulam beam and thus the position of each particular knot is still known. The glulam beams are investigated during a 4-point bending test. On the glulam members the load bearing capacity, the bending stiffness and the density is measured. Furthermore local strains within the glulam beams are investigated using an optical coordinate-measurement device. Following the test the failure is investigated in detail. Hereby the type of failure (knot cluster, finger joint, clear wood) and the amount of failure (number of damaged lamellas) is documented. Afterwards the failed glulam beams are loaded again to analyse the remaining bending strength and the corresponding remaining bending stiffness. The major aim of the experimental analysis is the investigation of the load bearing capacity of glulam beams with well-known local material properties. The gained results can be used for an investigation of the influence of local weak zones, such as knot clusters or finger joints, on the load bearing capacity of glulam. In addition a data basis is produced to develop a new model (or to evaluate existing models) for the estimation of the load bearing capacity of glulam.
Sustainability is now becoming a major concern in the modern construction industry. Despite being a major economic sector, the construction industry is causing adverse environmental impact. To this end, special attention should be paid to the selection of more "green" construction materials for structural applications. Therefore, a reasonable choice of construction materials can be made on the bases of acceptable structural performance, economic benefits, and sustainability. For instance, the use of composite beams made with traditional concrete and bio-based materials (such as timber and bamboo) is a valuable solution. Timber-Concrete Composite (TCC) beams have been used for decades in various structural applications such as new buildings, refurbishment of old timber structures, and bridges with several environmental benefits. Recently, different researchers proposed composite beams similar to TCC ones but based on engineered bamboo commonly named Bamboo-Concrete Composite (BCC) beams. This study presents comparison of the failure mode of the TCC and BCC beams udder fourpoint bending test. In particular, TCCs beams are compared with BCC ones considering similar shear connectors.
Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) is a relatively new timber product used in construction that has gained popularity over the last decade. The product itself is constituted by multiple glued layers of juxtaposed boards, usually arranged in an orthogonal direction between one layer and the adjacent ones. This particular structure brings several benefits, such as the possibility to use the same product both for walls and slabs, since it can bear in-plane and out-of-plane loads. However, the mechanical behavior differs from usual timber products, and research is still ongoing to achieve common agreement on standard procedures for testing products and theories for evaluating stresses for safety verifications. This paper focuses on the in-plane shear behavior of CLT and analyzes the existing methods to evaluate shear stresses. An experimental part then presents a four-point bending test of CLT beams with a specific geometry to induce shear failure. Results are reported both for the elastic range test, measuring the Modulus of Elasticity, and for the failure test to investigate shear behavior with regard to different mechanisms. Previously exposed methods are used for the calculation of shear stresses and to analyze the correspondence between them, and the results are then compared with other existing tests and values in literature. A new test setup for future research is eventually proposed.
Over 5 million m 3 of engineered wood products (EWPs) are produced in the EU annually and the market is rising. However, EWPs have a high degree of petrochemical use in their manufacturing. In addition, throughout the life span of these EWP products from manufacture to disposal, they emit formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which makes recycling very difficult. In this paper, preliminary experimental work on Adhesive Free Engineered Wood Products (AFEWPs) is presented, which covers (1) manufacture of compressed wood (CW) dowels, (2) fabrication of adhesive free laminated beams and connections, (3) structural testing of AFEWPs. Also, the finite element models are being developed to assist designing of AFEWPs in terms of size of compressed wood dowel and dowel patterns in order to maximise their stiffness and load carrying capacities.
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