Performance Analysis of Timber Composite Structures

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2025 | Viewed by 3919

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Civil Enginnering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
Interests: timber–concrete composites; shear connection; beam-to-column joint; long-term performance; timber structure

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Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle NE1 7RU, UK
Interests: timber structure; timber floor vibration; timber connections; cross-laminated timber materials; seismic control
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Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
Interests: innovative timber joints; timber-concrete/steel hybrid structures and their seismic performance; strengthening on timber components and numerical modelling on timber structures
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thanks to the sustainable and renewable attributes of wood, timber building has been subject to significant attention around the world and has been rapidly developed in recent years. Existing engineering examples have proven that timber structures have significant application prospects in high-rise and open-span buildings.

To make full use of wood materials and improve the mechanical properties of timber members, it is reliable and efficient to form timber composite structures by introducing other building materials, such as steel, concrete, bamboo, etc. Continuous innovative studies on timber composite structures are necessary in order to improve their structural behavior, long-term performance, fire resistance, as well as their vibration and sound insulation performance.

This Special Issue will showcase high-quality original research articles on the latest developments of timber composite structures with various combinations. The scope of the Special Issue includes (but is not limited to) timber–concrete composite structures, steel–timber composite structures, bamboo–wood composite structures, and the application of composite materials in timber structures. In addition, this Special Issue also provides space for review papers to provide insights into research status and development tendency. We are pleased to invite you to provide your invaluable articles to our Special Issue.

Dr. Benkai Shi
Dr. Haoyu Huang
Dr. Zhibin Ling
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • timber structures
  • wood
  • bamboo
  • timber–concrete composite structures
  • steel–timber composite structures
  • shear connection
  • seismic resilience
  • fire resistance
  • vibration performance
  • long-term performance

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 14765 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Seismic Responses and Vibration Serviceability in a High-Rise Timber–Concrete Hybrid Building
by Chao Zong, Jiajun Zhai, Xiaoluan Sun, Xingxing Liu, Xiaowu Cheng and Shenshan Wang
Buildings 2024, 14(9), 2614; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14092614 - 23 Aug 2024
Viewed by 592
Abstract
Timber–concrete hybrid structures are commonly employed in multi-story timber buildings; however, further research is necessary to fully understand the seismic performance of these structures as well as the dynamic properties of the floor. The two dynamic concerns, seismic effects and the vibration of [...] Read more.
Timber–concrete hybrid structures are commonly employed in multi-story timber buildings; however, further research is necessary to fully understand the seismic performance of these structures as well as the dynamic properties of the floor. The two dynamic concerns, seismic effects and the vibration of floors in hybrid structures, are key issues, in view of which this study aimed to investigate the small-seismic-response spectra and elastic time histories in a high-rise timber hybrid building, specifically the medical technology building of Jiangsu Provincial Rehabilitation Hospital in China. The dynamic characteristics of a localized cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor were tested in situ, and the impacts of human-induced vibration were quantified. Comprehensive theoretical analysis results reveal that the basic vibration pattern of the structure was mainly translational in nature and that the period ratio, inter-story displacement angle, and shear-to-weight ratio all met the demands of the Chinese timber building design code. The experimental test results show that the vertical natural frequency of the CLT floor was about 15.96 Hz and thus met appropriate requirements with respect to natural frequency. However, peak floor acceleration was found to be high under the conditions of a single person walking quickly, a single person trotting, and multiple persons walking randomly. In light of these findings, the floor should be paved with a fine-grained concrete building surface, according to design requirements, so that its serviceability might be improved. Overall, the relevant analytical methods presented in this paper provide guidance and practical reference for the seismic analysis of timber hybrid structures, as well as vibration serviceability analysis for CLT floors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Performance Analysis of Timber Composite Structures)
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21 pages, 9010 KiB  
Article
Design and Characteristics of a Single-Storey Hybrid Wood–Soil Structure
by Mohamed Darwish, Mohamed Adham, Hassan Allam, Khaled Yousri and Tamer Hassan
Buildings 2024, 14(6), 1785; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14061785 - 13 Jun 2024
Viewed by 695
Abstract
The need to reduce the effects of climate change has been increasing. One of the pathways to answer such a need is green construction. Hybrid wood–soil (HWS) structures are eco-friendly in addition to being cost-effective. Within this study, a single-storey building has been [...] Read more.
The need to reduce the effects of climate change has been increasing. One of the pathways to answer such a need is green construction. Hybrid wood–soil (HWS) structures are eco-friendly in addition to being cost-effective. Within this study, a single-storey building has been architecturally and structurally designed and tested. A conventional reinforced concrete (RC) structural system was designed and considered as a control case to be compared to the design at hand, which is an HWS system incorporating locally cultivated Casuarina Glauca wood and an in situ earth-based mixture. The two design alternatives are compared in terms of cost and carbon emissions. The HWS has proven to be economically viable and eco-friendly when compared to RC. The following stage within the research was to validate that the HWS structure will be structurally sound when erected. First, the effectiveness of the finger jointing process of the wooden members was experimentally assessed through performing bending tests on a finger-jointed specimen. Furthermore, half-scale models of one room within the structure have been manufactured from Casuarina Glauca wood and tested laterally to investigate the resistance of the HWS structural system to lateral loads. The first model was tested laterally without the earth-based infill and plaster materials to assess the behavior of the structural elements and measure its deformations. The second model was tested after applying the earth-based materials to obtain the true structural behavior of the system and the effect of the earth-based materials on its resistance to lateral loads. The results were used to assess the degree of the structural effectiveness of this HWS and the contribution of its components to its lateral stiffness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Performance Analysis of Timber Composite Structures)
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22 pages, 6892 KiB  
Article
Experimental and Three-Dimensional Numerical Investigations of Dehydration and Pyrolysis in Wood under Elevated and High Temperatures
by Qianyi Li, Biao Xu, Kaixi Chen, Zhaoyan Cui, Yan Liu and Lingfeng Zhang
Buildings 2024, 14(6), 1547; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14061547 - 27 May 2024
Viewed by 615
Abstract
Thermal responses of wood significantly depend on the dehydration and pyrolysis processes. However, the dehydration and pyrolysis of wood are not well understood. In this study, the thermal model of wood, considering the temperature-dependent thermo-physical parameters, was presented. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments [...] Read more.
Thermal responses of wood significantly depend on the dehydration and pyrolysis processes. However, the dehydration and pyrolysis of wood are not well understood. In this study, the thermal model of wood, considering the temperature-dependent thermo-physical parameters, was presented. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments were conducted on the Douglas fir wood with different moisture contents to validate the apparent specific heat capacity submodel. Subsequently, the thermal model was, respectively, implemented in the finite element software Abaqus 6.14 and finite volume software OpenFOAM 5.0 to simulate the three-dimensional temperature profiles within the wood. Dehydration experiment was conducted on the Douglas fir wood to verify the thermal model from room temperature to 200 °C. The thermal model was further validated by the full-scale fire experiment of the cross-laminated timber panel made of Spruce wood. It was found that both latent heat and pyrolysis heat have significant influence on the apparent specific heat capacity which further affected the thermal responses of wood. Moreover, the temperature is more sensitive to the latent heat than to the pyrolysis heat. The gas velocity is rather low in the dehydration and pyrolysis stages due to the low gas pressure. As a result, the gas convection seems to have very limited influence on the temperature progressions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Performance Analysis of Timber Composite Structures)
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Review

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28 pages, 2862 KiB  
Review
Long-Term Behavior of Timber–Concrete Composite Structures: A Literature Review on Experimental and Numerical Investigations
by Benkai Shi, Xuesong Zhou, Haotian Tao, Huifeng Yang and Bo Wen
Buildings 2024, 14(6), 1770; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14061770 - 12 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1308
Abstract
Timber–concrete composite structure is a type of efficient combination form composed of concrete floors and timber beams or floors through shear connectors, and shows good application potential in the floor system of timber buildings. The long-term performance of the timber–concrete composite structures is [...] Read more.
Timber–concrete composite structure is a type of efficient combination form composed of concrete floors and timber beams or floors through shear connectors, and shows good application potential in the floor system of timber buildings. The long-term performance of the timber–concrete composite structures is complex and is affected by the creep of timber and concrete, as well as the long-term slip of the shear connectors. This article presents a comprehensive overview of the research status on the long-term behavior of timber–concrete composite members and different shear connectors. For the shear connectors, the effects of loading levels, environments, and component materials on their creep coefficients are summarized. As to the timber–concrete composite members, both the experimental and numerical investigations are gathered into discussions: the connection types, component materials, loading conditions, and durations in the long-term tests are also discussed; various models for describing long-term behavior of timber, concrete, and connection systems are provided, and then a comprehensive description of the progress of numerical investigations over the last decades is made. In addition, the suggestions for future research are proposed to reach a clearer understanding of the bending mechanisms and mechanical characteristics of timber–concrete composite structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Performance Analysis of Timber Composite Structures)
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