Combining Architectural Conservation and Seismic Strengthening in the Wood-Based Retrofitting of a Monumental Timber Roof: The Case Study of St. Andrew’s Church in Ceto, Brescia, Italy

This work presents the application of timber-based retrofitting techniques to a case-study stone masonry church featuring a wooden roof from 18^th century. From the static point of view, the original roof structure presented a number of undersized structural elements, and its members were poorly or not connected among each other and...

Education in Assessment and Retrofitting of Historical Timber Structures: Integration of Teaching and Practice

The paper deals with the specific approach to teach the subject of assessment and retrofitting of historical timber structures to students of various colleges in an integrated and multidisciplinary course. Timber structures belong to the oldest structures in the world and because of their specific susceptibility to ageing, often require a...

Historical Wooden Pile Foundations in Amsterdam: An Integrated Approach for the Estimation of Structural Performance and Residual Service Life

Timber pile foundations are widespread in many areas around Europe and North-America. Especially in areas with weak soils, timber pile foundations have been a very good and economic solution. That foundations can be up to 500 years in service in cities like Venice, Amsterdam, Boston and many others. Degradation of the piles may occur over...

Connection of timber foundation piles to concrete extension piles

In this work, the relationship for a socket-type connection in wooden foundation piles is investigated, and a trilinear moment-rotation diagram was determined by means of experiment.<br/>Numerical and analytical models confirmed that the material properties for compression perpendicular to the grain are governing for the connections’ strength...

Monotonic, cyclic and dynamic behaviour of timber-masonry connections

Historical or existing buildings are often composed of brick or stone masonry walls, and timber floors and roofs. When these buildings are subjected to earthquakes, the interaction among such structural components is essential to avoid collapse or excessive damage to the constructions. In this framework, a crucial role is played by the...

An integral approach for the assessment of timber pile foundations

Timber pile foundations are widespread in many areas around Europe and North-America. Especially in areas with weak soils, timber pile foundations have been a very good and economic solution. However, aging of the foundations can become a problem, as physical, biological and/or chemical degradation may occur over time. Now, that foundations...

Dissipative properties of timber diaphragms strengthened with plywood panels

In the field of seismic retrofitting, a common intervention to improve box-like behaviour in an existing building is the strengthening and stiffening of existing timber floors and roofs. However, these retrofitting methods should be carefully applied, because they change the static scheme and the buildings' response to earthquakes....

An analytical model describing the in-plane behaviour of timber diaphragms strengthened with plywood panels

Timber diaphragms in existing buildings are often too flexible in their plane, and can thus potentially cause out-of-plane collapses of walls during earthquakes. A very efficient retrofitting method to increase their in-plane stiffness and energy dissipation is the overlay of plywood panels. However, the usual characterization of the floors by...

Comparing In-Plane Equivalent Shear Stiffness of Timber Diaphragms Retrofitted with Light and Reversible Wood-Based Techniques

In-plane behavior of timber diaphragms is usually characterized by means of an equivalent shear stiffness. However, this value depends on how the stiffness of the floors is evaluated from the experimental tests. Although an increasing number of research studies have provided a deeper insight into the seismic characterization of as-built and...

Impact of spacing and pruning on quantity, quality and economics of Douglas-fir sawn timber: scenario and sensitivity analysis

Controlling the long-term effect of management on the quantity and properties of individual boards is a fundamental challenge for silviculture. Within this basic study on Douglas-fir, we have investigated the sensitivity of the net present value (NPV) to three most common planting densities and a prominent pruning strategy. We therefore have...

Experimental and analytical evaluation of the in-plane behaviour of as-built and strengthened traditional wooden floors

Traditional timber floors cannot normally withstand horizontal seismic loads without large deformations. This may lead to a corresponding out-of-plane collapse of masonry walls in existing buildings. This situation is even more critical in the Netherlands, around the city of Groningen, where human-induced earthquakes started to take place....

Self-extinguishment of cross-laminated timber

Cross-laminated timber, or CLT, is receiving attention for its potential application in tall building structures. As a combustible material, one of the main challenges for the construction of these buildings is the fire risk that results from its use in the structure.<br/><br/>Unprotected CLT can burn along with the fuel load present in a...

Tensile strength classes for hardwoods

Generally, for structural timber the main properties are listed in a strength class system. In Europe EN 338 (2016) lists available strength class and their respective characteristic properties. Depending on the product application the bending or the tension properties are of main interest. For glulam lamellas, tension classes are preferred as...

Self-extinguishment of cross-laminated timber

Cross-laminated timber, or CLT, is receiving attention for its potential use in tall buildings. As a combustible material, one of the challenges for the construction of these buildings is the fire risk that results from its use in the structure. Unprotected CLT can burn along with the fuel load present in a compartment. Irrespective of its fire...

Steel-to-timber joints of beech-lvl with very high strength steel dowels

Double-shear steel-to-timber joints of beech laminated veneer lumber (LVL) with slotted-in steel plates using very high strength steel (VHSS) dowels have been investigated. Tensile tests on full-scale joints with one, two, three and six dowels have been carried out, using both VHSS and mild steel dowels. The goal...