This article presents a test method that was developed to screen adhesive formulations for finger-jointed lumber. The goal was to develop a small-scale test that could be used to predict whether an adhesive would pass a full-scale ASTM E119 wall assembly test. The method involved loading a 38-mm square finger-jointed sample in a four-point bending test inside of an oven with a target sample temperature of 204°C. The deformation (creep) was examined as a function of time. It was found that samples fingerjointed with melamine formaldehyde and phenol resorcinol formaldehyde adhesives had the same creep behavior as solid wood. One-component polyurethane and polyvinyl acetate adhesives could not maintain the load at the target temperature measured middepth of the sample, and several different types of creep behavior were observed before failure. This method showed that the creep performance of the onecomponent adhesives may be quite different than the performance from short-term load deformation curves collected at high temperatures. The importance of creep performance of adhesives in the fire resistance of engineered wood is discussed.
Although not yet seen as common practice, building with cross laminated timber (CLT) is gaining momentum in North America. Behind the scenes of the widely publicized project initiatives such as the Wood Innovation Design Centre Building in Canada and the recent U.S. Tall Wood Building Competition, substantial research, engineering, and development has been completed or is underway to enable the adoption of this innovative building system. This paper presents a brief overview of the current status of CLT building development in North America, highlighting some recent U.S. and Canadian research efforts related to CLT system performance, and identifies future CLT research directions based on the needs of the North American market. The majority of the research summarized herein is from a recent CLT research workshop in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, organized by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory. The opportunity and need for coordination in CLT research and development among the global timber engineering community are also highlighted in the conclusions of this paper.
Compared to light-frame wood shear walls, it is relatively difficult for panelized CLT shear walls to achieve similar levels of lateral deflection without paying special attention to design details, i.e., connections. A design lacking ductility or energy dissipating mechanism will result in high acceleration amplifications and excessive global overturning demands for multistory buildings, and even more so for tall wood buildings. Although a number of studies have been conducted on CLT shear walls and building assemblies since the 1990s, the wood design community’s understanding of the seismic behavior of panelized CLT systems is still in the learning phase, hence the impetus for this article and the tall CLT building workshop, which will be introduced herein. For example, there has been a recent trend in engineering to improve resiliency, which seeks to design a building system such that it can be restored to normal functionality sooner after an earthquake than previously possible, i.e., it is a resilient system. While various resilient lateral system concepts have been explored for concrete and steel construction, this concept has not yet been realized for multistory CLT systems. This forum article presents a review of past research developments on CLT as a lateral force-resisting system, the current trend toward design and construction of tall buildings with CLT worldwide, and attempts to summarize the societal needs and challenges in developing resilient CLT construction in regions of high seismicity in the United States.
The design of multiple bolted connections in accordance with Appendix E of the National Design Specification for Wood Construction (NDS) has incorporated provisions for evaluating localized member failure modes of row and group tear-out when the connections are closely spaced. Originally based on structural glued laminated timber (glulam) members made with all L1 Douglas fir-Larch laminating lumber, the NDS provisions were confirmed by additional analysis, which indicates the applicability of the provisions to glulam with reduced design shear values. Due to the similarity to glulam in the grain orientation and layup strategy, laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is subject to similar failure modes. As a result, a study was initiated by APA – The Engineered Wood Association and the LVL industry, in collaboration with the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to evaluate if a reduced design shear stress is necessary for LVL under similar multiple bolted connection configurations. This paper describes the test results obtained from the study, which indicate that an adequate load factor exists for LVL multiple bolted connections without a reduction in the LVL design shear stress when designed in accordance with Appendix E of the NDS.
This paper presents selected results of connector testing and wall testing which were part of a Forest Products Lab-funded project undertaken at Colorado State University in an effort to determine seismic performance factors for cross laminated timber (CLT) shear walls in the United States. Archetype development, which is required as part of the process, is also discussed. Connector tests were performed on generic angle brackets which were tested under shear and uplift and performed as expected with consistent nail withdrawal observed. Quasi-static cyclic tests were conducted on CLT shear walls to systematically investigate the effects of various parameters. Boundary constraints and gravity loading were both found to have a beneficial effect on the wall performance, i.e. higher strength and deformation capacity. Specific gravity also had a significant effect on wall behaviour while CLT thickness was less influential. Higher aspect ratio panels (4:1) demonstrated lower stiffness and substantially larger deformation capacity compared to moderate aspect ratio panels (2:1). However, based on the test results there is likely a lower bound of 2:1 for aspect ratio where it ceases to have any beneficial effect on wall behaviour. This is likely due to the transition from the dominant rocking behaviour to sliding behaviour.
The 11th Canadian Conference on Earthquake Engineering
Research Status
Complete
Notes
July 21-24, 2015, Victoria, BC, Canada
Summary
This paper presents recent progress in the development of seismic performance factors for cross-laminated timber (CLT) systems in the United States. A brief overview of some of other systematic studies conducted in Europe, North America, and Japan is also provided. The FEMA P695 methodology is briefly described and selected results from connector testing and CLT wall testing are discussed. Shear and uplift tests were performed on generic angle brackets to quantify their behavior. CLT walls with these connectors were then tested investigate the influence of various parameters on wall component performance. The influential factors considered include boundary condition, gravity loading, CLT grade, panel thickness, and panel aspect ratio (height:length). Results indicate that boundary condition and gravity loading have beneficial effect on strength and stiffness of the CLT panels. CLT grade is an important parameter while CLT panel thickness only has a minimal influence on wall behavior. Higher aspect ratio (4:1) panels demonstrated less stiffness but considerably more ductility than the panels with lower aspect ratio (2:1). This paper also provides details on some ongoing efforts including additional tests planned, index buildings from which P-695 archetypes will be extracted, and nonlinear modeling for this project.
New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering Conference
Research Status
Complete
Notes
April 27-29, 2017, Wellington, New Zealand
Summary
With global urbanization trends, the demands for tall residential and mixeduse buildings in the range of 8~20 stories are increasing. One new structural system in this height range are tall wood buildings which have been built in select locations around the world using a relatively new heavy timber structural material known as cross laminated timber (CLT). With its relatively light weight, there is consensus amongst the global wood seismic research and practitioner community that tall wood buildings have a substantial potential to become a key solution to building future seismically resilient cities. This paper introduces the NHERI Tallwood Project recentely funded by the U.S. National Science Fundation to develop and validate a seismic design methodology for tall wood buildings that incorporates high-performance structural and nonstructural systems and can quantitatively account for building resilience. This will be accomplished through a series of research tasks planned over a 4-year period. These tasks will include mechanistic modeling of tall wood buildings with several variants of post-tensioned rocking CLT wall systems, fragility modeling of structural and non-structural building components that affect resilience, fullscale biaxial testing of building sub-assembly systems, development of a resilience-based seismic design (RBSD) methodology, and finally a series of full-scale shaking table tests of a 10-story CLT building specimen to validate the proposed design. The project will deliver a new tall building type capable of transforming the urban building landscape by addressing urbanization demand while enhancing resilience and sustainability.
A collaborative project between the Forest Products Laboratory and Colorado State University to develop seismic performance factors for cross laminated timber is underway. The project requires application of the FEMA P-695 methodology, which is purposely robust and detailed and requires that the project team follow specific procedures. Failure to develop these seismic performance factors would severely limit the acceptance of the CLT building systems in the United States, underscoring the need for application of the FEMA P-695. The FEMA P-695 document, “Quantification of Building Seismic Performance Factors,” was published in 2009 and defines a number of steps, all of which will be taken to develop the seismic performance factors for seismic design of CLT buildings.
The objectives of this research are (1) to develop seismic performance factors for CLT subject to a peer review panel process that includes an independent peer review committee report and (2) to have the resulting seismic performance factors recognized in ASCE 7 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures.
Buckling Restrained Brace Frames (BRBF) are a proven and reliable method to provide an efficient lateral force resisting system for new and existing structures in earthquake prone regions. The fuse-type elements in this system facilitate stable energy dissipation at large load deformation levels. Currently, the new trend towards mass timber vertical...
International Network on Timber Engineering Research
Research Status
Complete
Summary
Buckling Restrained Brace Frames (BRBF) are a proven and reliable method to provide an efficient lateral force resisting system for new and existing structures in earthquake prone regions. The fuse-type elements in this system facilitate stable energy dissipation at large load deformation levels. Currently, the new trend towards mass timber vertical structures creates a need for a lightweight compatible lateral force resisting system. A Buckling Restrained Brace (BRB) component is possible to construct and feasible to implement when combining a steel core with a mass timber casing herein named the Timber-Buckling Restrained Brace (T-BRB). T-BRBs when combined with mass timber beam and column elements can create a system that will have advantages over the current steel framed BRBF system when considering recyclability, sustainability, framing compatibility, and performance. This paper presents findings on small scale testing of candidate engineered wood products for the T-BRB casing and testing of six full scale 12 ft long 60 kip braces according to code prescribed loading protocols and acceptance criteria.
