Vibrations induced by people walking is one of the most important issue in timber floor design. Low natural frequency and low mass require a careful analysis in order to prevent significant annoyance and to guarantee an acceptable human comfort. This paper is concerned with the assessment of vibration performance of a timber-concrete composite timber floor and a cross laminated timber floor used in two timber buildings under construction in Trento (Italy). Different approaches suggested by Standards and literature were employed: analytical methods, numerical analyses and laboratory tests. About analytical methods the uniformed distributed load deflection criterion (ULD), the Eurocode 5 criterion and some criterions from literature were compared, whereas the Vibration Dose Value (VDV) method, as suggested by ISO 10137, was used for the numerical models and the laboratory tests. The numerical analyses were carried out by means of a finite element modelling. The load due to footfall was simulated by static and dynamic vertical forces. The laboratory tests were characterized by thirty walking tests for each floor. Impact testing with modal hammer was also undertaken in order to investigate the dynamic properties of the specimens. All results are compared and discussed.
There is a need to evaluate timber-concrete composite (TCC) systems under fire conditions to understand how shear connectors will perform and might affect the fire performance and the composite action of the assmebly. This project evaluates the fire performance of TCC assemblies based on their structural resistance, integrity and insulation when exposed to a standard fire, as well as how mass timber and concrete interact. This study involves full-scale fire resistance tests on wood-concrete composite floors using two types of shear connectors.
