Advanced Wood-Based Solutions for Mid-Rise and High-Rise Construction: Structural Performance of Post-Tensioned CLT Shear Walls with Energy Dissipators
The latest developments in seismic design philosophy have been geared towards developing of so called "resilient" or "low damage" innovative structural systems that can reduce damage to the structure while offering the same or higher levels of safety to occupants. One such innovative structural system is the Pres-Lam system that is a wood-hybrid system that utilizes post-tensioned (PT) mass timber components in both rigid-frame and wall-based buildings along with various types of energy disspators. To help implement the Pres-Lam system in Canada and the US, information about the system performance made with North American engineered wood products is needed. That information can later be used to develop design guidelines for the designers for wider acceptance of the system by the design community.Several components influence the performance of the Pres-Lam systems: the load-deformation properties of the engineered wood products under compression, load-deformation and energy dissipation properties of the dissipators used, placement of the dissipators in the system, and the level of post-tensioning force. The influence of all these components on the performance of Pres-Lam wall systems under gravity and lateral loads was investigated in this research project. The research project consisted of two main parts: material tests and system tests.
The key objective of this study is to analyze full-scale fire-resistance tests conducted on structural composite lumber (SCL), namely laminated veneer lumber (LVL), parallel strand lumber (PSL) and laminated strand lumber (LSL). A sub-objective is to evaluate the encapsulation performance of Type X gypsum board directly applied to SCL beams and its contribution to fire-resistance of wood elements.
The test data is being used to further support the applicability of the newly developed Canadian calculation method for mass timber elements, recently implemented as Annex B of CSA O86-14.
This report begins with a discussion of the mechanisms of flame spread over combustible materials while describing the NBCC prescriptive solutions that establish the acceptable fire performance of interior finish materials. It is noted that while flame spread ratings do give an indication of the fire performance of products in building fires, the data generated are not useful as input to fire models that predict fire growth in buildings.
The cone calorimeter test is then described in some detail. Basic data generated in the cone calorimeter on the time to ignition and heat release rates are shown to be fundamental properties of wood products which can be useful as input to fire models for predicting fire growth in buildings.
The report concludes with the recommendation that it would be useful to run an extensive set of cone calorimeter tests on SCL, glue-laminated timber and CLT products. The fundamental data could be most useful for validating models for predicting flame spread ratings of massive timber products and useful as input to comprehensive computer fire models that predict the course of fire in buildings. It is also argued that the cone calorimeter would be a useful tool in assessing fire performance during product development and for quality control purposes.
The report describes a new structural system in wood that is the first significant challenger to concrete and steel structures since their inception in tall building design more than a century ago. The introduction of these ideas is fundamentally driven by the need to find safe, carbon-neutral and sustainable alternatives to the incumbent structural materials of the urban world. The market for these ideas is quite simply enormous. The proposed solutions have significant capacity to revolutionize the building industry to address the major challenges of climate change, urbanization, sustainable development and world housing needs.
Inspection, Testing, and Monitoring of Buildings and Bridges
Summary
Depending on the severity, fire damage can compromise the structural integrity of wood structures such as buildings or residences. Fire damage of wood structures can incorporate several models that address (1) the type, cause, and spread of the fire, (2) the thermal gradients and fire-resistance ratings, and (3) the residual load capacity.
The investigator should employ engineering judgment to identify those in-service members that are to be replaced, repaired, or can remain in-service as they are. Suchjudgment will likely be based on the visual inspection of damaged members, connections, and any protective membranes.
North American cross laminated timber is currently made of softwood lumber following the guidelines of the ANSI/APA PRG-320 manufacturing standard. In this study, the potential of manufacturing CLT panels using various hardwood species and engineered wood products (EWP) was investigated for their compatibility and the impact on the dimensional stability and aesthetics of the end products. Yellow birch, trembling aspen, sugar maple, laminated strand lumber (LSL) and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) were compared to 100% spruce-pine-fir group species (SPF) lumber made CLT panel. The bond line performance of the assemblies was tested as well as the dimensional stability and appearance of the panels when subjected to conditions with equilibrium moisture contents (EMC) of 4.5%, 12% and 16%. Results showed that higher density hardwood species were prone to delamination. LSL, LVL and trembling aspen yielded promising delamination results. Best overall dimensional stability results were achieved with EWP inclusive configurations. Aesthetic integrity assessment showed that the use of hardwood for the core layer and edge gluing of softwood outer layers had a negative impact. Overall, the study showed a great potential for manufacturing future composite CLT (CCLT) products using EWP and low density hardwood species. The cost premium of using these alternative materials would need to be offset by valuable sets of properties or by a reduction of the manufacturing cost.
This project proposes a timber-based composite floor that can span 12 m and be used in the construction of 40+ story office buildings. This floor system integrates timber panels and timber beams to form a continuous box girder structure. The timber panels function as the flanges and the timber beams as the web. The beams are spaced and connected to the flange panels so that sufficient bending stiffness of a 12 m span can be achieved via the development of composite action.
The current phase of this project studied the performance of the connections between timber elements in the proposed composite member. Six types of connections using different flange material and connection techniques were tested: Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), Laminated Strand Lumber (LSL), Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL), and Post Laminated Veneer Lumber (PLVL). Glulam was used as the web. The majority of the connections used self-tapping wood screws except one had notches. The load-carrying capacity, stiffness, and ductility of the connections were measured. The stiffness of CLT, LSL, and PLVL connections was in the same range, 19-20 kN/mm per screw. Amongst the three, LSL had the highest peak load and PLVL had the highest proportional limit. The stiffness of the two LVL screw connections was around 13 kN/mm. The notched LVL connection had significantly higher stiffness than the rest, and its peak load was in the same range as LSL, but the failure was brittle.
LVL was used to manufacture the full scale timber composite floor element. With a spacing of 400 mm, the overall stiffness reached 33689 N
mm2×109, which was 2.5 times the combined stiffness of two Glulam beams. The predicted overall stiffness based on Gamma method was within 5% of the tested value, and the estimated degree of composite action was 68%. From both the test results and analytical modeling, the number of screws may be further reduced to 50% or less of the current amount, while maintaining a high level of stiffness.
Future work includes testing the composite floor under different screw spacings,
investigating the effect of concrete topping, and the connections between floor members
and other structural elements.
The design-build of a Wooden Adaptive Architectural System is part of a larger research-creation project on Adaptive Architecture (AA) [1] exploring the entire design process leading to a fully adaptable three story high 1:3/4 wooden structure. This system allows the easy manoeuvrability by the occupants of walls and floors in x, y and z directions in order to adapt the space to their environmental and functional needs. The omnidirectional mobility criteria challenged conventional building techniques and led to an innovative all-wood rigid node. Extensive prototyping using digital fabrication allowed the team to optimize the node assemblage and precision through parametric experimentation before proper production. The Wooden Adaptive Architectural System, made of 2000 prefabricated sticks measuring as little as 1 ¾” x 1 ¾” x 24” provides fully adaptive space configurations and be easily deconstructed, transported, and reassembled in totally new building shapes.
This document is a translation of the “Bâtiments de construction massive en bois
d’au plus 12 étages” Guide published in August 2015. In the event of discrepancies,
the French version prevails.
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