J.W.G. van de Kuilen
231 records found
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Hundreds of kilometers of timber sheet piles protecting the banks of canals of the Netherlands are nearing the end of their service life and need to be replaced. Even though azobé wood is very widely used, little is known about the current state of the azobé timber sheet piles th
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Biomechanical analysis of inosculations (self-growing connections) in Ficus benjamina L.
Impact of developmental growth levels on mechanical properties
Trees can adapt to external loads and form inosculations (self-growing connections), where stems or branches naturally fuse together. However, a limited understanding of biomechanical features of connections hinders their practical applications. This study used connections formed
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Fatigue failures pose significant challenges across various engineering disciplines. Wood, due to its low carbon emissions and high strength-to-weight ratio, has been gaining attention in engineering applications. The fatigue behavior of wood is complex due to its heterogeneous,
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Morphological analysis of inosculated connections in weeping figs
Insights on density, geometry, fiber structures, and compositional variations
Trees exhibit adaptability in response to external loads, which allows them to form an inosculated connection (self-growing connection) with a neighboring tree. Such connections have the mechanical potential to build living tree structures. Although qualitative studies have studi
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The majority of bridges and quay walls in the centre of Amsterdam are supported by 100–300 years-old wooden foundation piles subjected to bacterial decay. Bacterial degradation proceeds at a slow rate, allowing the piles to perform their function for many years, although causing
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This case study explores the utilization of distributed fiber optic sensors (DFOS) in wooden foundation piles, for assessing and monitoring the stress distribution along their length. Three spruce and three pine foundation piles instrumented with DFOS were driven into the soil in
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Wooden pile foundations
Structural analysis and assessment of remaining load carrying capacity
Wooden pile foundations are present in many historic towns in Europe and beyond. The technology of making such foundations was developed primarily in southern Europe, but rapidly spread to other countries. The foundations themselves are made with wooden piles of up to 15m, on top
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The compressive strength properties of timber foundation piles in Amsterdam were characterised by small-scale compression tests on saturated round wooden discs. The discs were extracted from the head, middle, and tip of five spruce (Picea abies) piles dating back to 1727, 1886, 1
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This contribution aims for an enhanced numerical representation for strength prediction of timber. This implies a validated elasto-plastic continuum damage model which considers orthotropy and heterogeneity of the material, and represents the ductile behavior under compression an
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This study investigates the sliding friction fluctuations through hysteresis cycles, observed between a steel sphere and wood specimens of beech and spruce, by using a tribometer and a profilometer. At first, the tracked wear profiles revealed a correlation between the normal for
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The majority of bridges and quay walls in the inner city of Amsterdam rely on wooden foundation piles. Most of these were constructed 100–300 years ago, implying several challenges for the assessment of the current residual load-carrying capacity and their reliability. In Amsterd
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The majority of the bridges in the historic city centre of Amsterdam are supported by wooden foundation piles. Most of these were constructed 100–300 years ago, currently raising concerns about potential safety issues. The wooden piles under the bridges remain entirely under the
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Hygrothermal ageing of dry gelatine adhesive films
Microstructure-property relationships
Gelatine adhesives, also known as animal glues, are collagen-based water-soluble biopolymers derived from vertebrate connective tissues. One of the various fields in which gelatine adhesives are widely used is the conservation of cultural heritage such as decorated furniture and
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Time to failure analysis of wood adhesives
A non-linear approach based on chemical reaction kinetics
Similar to wood, adhesives may exhibit duration of load effects. When loaded for longer periods of time, damage processes in the material may develop, eventually leading to failure. From wood research it is known that load level, temperature and relative humidity have an importa
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In the historic city centre of Amsterdam (NL), the predominant foundation system is comprised of wooden piles. Due to their placement below the water table, these foundations are susceptible to bacterial decay. This study aims to investigate and compare various methods for charac
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In the historic city centre of Amsterdam (NL), the most widespread foundation system consists of wooden piles. With the aim of modelling and predicting remaining service life of these foundations and the piles in particular, one of the possible methods for collecting data and mon
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Gelatine adhesives from mammalian and fish origins for historical art objects conservation
How do microstructural features determine physical and mechanical properties?
Gelatine adhesives aka ‘animal glues’ are water-soluble biopolymers used in historic objects such as wooden cabinets and panel paintings since ancient times. This paper investigates the correlations between microstructural features, namely triple helices, and macroscopic properti
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This work investigated the influence of knots on the compression strength of wooden foundation piles. The study involved 110 pile segments sawn from 18 spruce and 9 pine piles with a mean diameter of approximately 200 mm, and moisture contents above fiber saturation. The mechanic
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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 18th century. From the static point of view, the original roof structure presented a number of undersized structural elements, a
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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
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