Stiffness Modelling of Large Timber Connections in Stability Trusses

The demand for timber buildings is rising because of the need to make the construction industry more sustainable. Eurocode 5 provides guidance in the design process of timber structures. Numerical modelling is generally used for complex structures like multi-storey timber buildings. Currently, there is limited understanding of the serviceability...

Influence of a timber outrigger system on cross laminated timber core buildings

The construction industry contributes significantly to global emissions. In response to the growing concern about climate change, new methods are being developed to reduce these emissions. Building with timber is one such approach, as it can be CO2 neutral if reforestation is practiced. Timber is a lightweight and flexible material compared to...

Characterizing and modelling the perpendicular to the grain mode-I fracture process of (tropical) hardwood

The demand to build with wood and other bio-based materials has increased rapidly the last decade, due to the ambition to build more with sustainable building materials. One of the major challenges in building with wood, is to account for the lower strength and stiffness perpendicular to the grain. Wood is an anisotropic material, meaning the...

Withdrawal strength of self-tapping screws in tropical hardwood

Self-tapping screws are popular tools used in timber engineering. The axial withdrawal strength of self-tapping screws could be used in timber structures as an active or passive application. An example of an active application is the use as a fastener in wall to wall connections. An example of a passive application is the use as reinforcement...

Experimental and numerical modelling of mode I fracture in tropical hardwoods

The goal of the thesis is to investigate two main questions for the purpose of modelling fractures in timber with a finite element method. The first question is to evaluate the use of digital image correlation during a three point bending test to obtain mean values for tensile strength and fracture energy, and the follow up question is if it is...

Feasibility of Medium Span Steel-Timber Hybrid Bridges: A comparative study

Concrete and Steel are the materials with the largest market share in the construction industry and have been for a long time.<br/>With environmental awareness increasing, timber is regaining popularity due to the potential for carbon neutral and even carbon negative construction.<br/>Use of structural wood elements in bridges, however, is often...

Development of a modular system for circular timber highway bridges

The infrastructure industry currently deals with two issues: the deterioration of (highway) bridges, and the urge to reduce emissions by the construction sector. Rijkswaterstaat must repair or replace hundreds of bridges in the upcoming decades. At the same time, the impact of human behaviour on climate change becomes more visible and must be...

Influence of quay wall defects on the structural response

Inner–city quay walls fulfil a number of very important functions where the retention of water is the most important one observed from a structural perspective. Despite their importance, not all of these structures are very well maintained, especially the older ones. Each municipality has their own maintenance regime, depending on the allocated...

Utilizing crosswise self-growing connection as load-bearing element in building design

Within the context of utilizing alternative materials to promote sustainable construction in the building industry, Living Architecture is a concept that uses living organisms as the building materials. As a rather unconventional approach, it possesses benefits such as low cost, not requiring considerable workforce or industrial material, carbon...

Strength classification of Okan from Gabon by the combination of visual and machining grading

Timber as a renewable source has been extensively applied among European countries in the construction field. Among more than 1000 available wood species which could be potentially applied as engineered wood, tropical hardwood takes up a significant portion and has advantages of high mechanical resistance and remarkable biological durability...

A Post-tensioned Cross-Laminated Timber core for buildings

This master thesis is on post-tensioning cross-laminated timber stability cores for multiple story buildings. When designing a CLT core, significantly larger core sections will be needed than when designing a stabilizing core in concrete. This is for one part due to the limited stiffness of the CLT compared to concrete. For another part it is...

The remaining capacity of the timber foundation of a historical quay wall with relieving platform: With the Maaskade as a case study

The increased loading and decreasing strength of historical quay walls calls for remedyand has drawn the attention of many Dutch municipalities, Rotterdam being oneof those. In order to set up proper assessment methods that result in an economicaland ecological policy for renovation or replacement of these structures the Port of Rotterdamhas...

Timber Creep of Historic Urban Quay Walls: The influence of timber creep on the assessment of inner-city quay walls

Amsterdam and many other cities consist of a network of old quay walls, which sometimes have been constructed over a century ago. A large uncertainty exists concerning the current safety of these quay walls and their remaining service lifetime. In the current framework for the assessment of old urban quay walls, the influence of timber creep in...