Timber buildings are increasing in their dimensions. Structural robustness is imperative for all buildings and specifically important for tall buildings. Lives can be saved if disproportionate ...collapse can be avoided after a catastrophic event (e.g. accident, terrorism). The literature about robustness is comprehensive concerning concrete and steel buildings, but is rather limited regarding timber. This paper reviews robustness in general and robustness of timber buildings in particular. Robustness is an intrinsic structural property, enhancing global tolerance to local failures, regardless of the cause. A deterministic approach to assess robustness is to remove certain load-bearing elements from the structure and compare the consequences to given limits. Design methods for robustness may be direct by assessing effects of local failure, or indirect by following guidelines. For robust timber buildings, the connections are the key aspects. Usually, metal connectors may provide the required joint ductility. For robust light timber-frame construction, rim beams may be designed. For timber posts and beams and cross laminated timber, guidance regarding robustness is scarce, but in some aspects they seem to be similar to steel frames and precast concrete. Future research should assess the capacity of connections, and evaluate the adequacy of seismic connectors for robust timber buildings.
•Non-linear model for alternative load paths in cross-laminated timber floors.•Calibration to experimental results and parameter variations.•Collapse resistance by catenary and arching action, and ...the platform joint itself.•Collapse resistance increases at lower storeys and decreases with longer spans.•Catenary action requires novel connections, arching action requires thick panels.
Multi-storey buildings require mitigation of consequences of unexpected or accidental events, to prevent disproportionate collapse after an initial damage. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) in platform-type construction is increasingly used for multi-storey buildings, however, the collapse behaviour and alternative load paths (ALPs) are not fully understood. A 3D non-linear component-based finite element model was developed for a platform-type CLT floor system to study the ALPs after an internal wall loss, in a pushdown analysis. The model, which accounted for connection failure, timber crushing and large displacements, was calibrated to experimental results and then adapted for boundary conditions corresponding to typical residential and office buildings. Subsequently, five parameters (floor span, connection type, vertical location of the floor, tying level, horizontal wall stiffness) were varied, to study their effects on the ALPs in 80 models. The results showed that three ALPs occurred, of which catenary action was the most dominant. Collapse resistance was mainly affected by the floor span, followed by the axial strength, stiffness and ductility of the floor-to-floor connection, the weight of the level above and the floor panel thickness. This study provides an approach to model ALPs in a platform-type CLT floor system to design disproportionate collapse resistant multi-storey CLT buildings.
Sawn-timber drying is the wood industry's most time- and energy-consuming process. This process can be more efficient than the conventional method by elevating the dry-bulb temperature to above 100 ...°C in a high-temperature drying (HTD) process, which for some species shortens the drying process by up to 50% without deteriorating the quality. Comprehending the complex correlation between the wood drying physics at high temperatures and the anatomical features of the specific species, along with its mechanical and physical properties, is crucial, as it limited its application from being broadly implemented in industry and the necessity of generalizing this method for wood species. The present study has been conducted to comprehensively review and tackle the challenges of applying this method on various species and the consequences, such as high moisture content gradients resulting in stress residual, unevenness, and color changes. Energy, environment, and economic (3E) assessments of HTD were evaluated. The accelerated drying process in HTD reduces heat losses and air leaks, resulting in higher energy efficiency than the conventional methods. Furthermore, it was proved to be 20% economically in the long term. Confliction in reported studies, such as HTD's effect on permeability and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, was raised, highlighting the importance of further studies for generalizing this method to adapt appropriate drying schedules, focusing on Scandinavian species by referring to previous industrial trials.
•Reconstruction of board geometry, pith and knots from computed tomography scans.•New fibre reconstruction algorithm based on image analysis of CT density data.•3D and 1D finite element models to ...simulate four-point bending test.•Estimation of local and global bending stiffness (MoE) and bending strength.•Coefficient of determination (R2⩽0.83) for bending strength and (R2⩽0.93).
A method is presented for reconstructing the geometry, the pith, the knots and the local fibre orientations in timber boards, based on X-ray computed tomography scans. The local fibre deviations around knots were found by a new algorithm, based on image analysis. The experimental data comprised tomography scans, eigenfrequency measurements and four-point bending tests of 20 Norway spruce boards. 3D and 1D finite element models of the pure bending zone of the bending tests were created, accounting for the exact board geometry and the reconstructed fibre deviations. A purely density based, a purely eigenfrequency based, and a mixed constitutive law were compared. Model estimations showed a high coefficient of determination (R2) for global modulus of elasticity (MoE) (R2⩽0.93), local MoE (R2⩽0.87), bending strength (R2⩽0.83), and the location of initial failure. Constitutive laws accounting for eigenfrequency showed the most accurate results. In the future, adapting the method for logs could enable analyses of boards before sawing.
•This paper presents survey of contemporary practice for disproportionate collapse prevention in buildings.•The study presents data on how practitioners around the world apply the existing codes and ...guidelines.•This study compares practices applied to different materials and different regions around the world.•The findings also inform on the development for future revisions of building codes for disproportionate collapse prevention.
This paper summarises contemporary practices and implementations of the existing codes and guidelines with respect to disproportionate collapse prevention. Here, focus is given to structural robustness, defined as the ideal method to decrease the probability of disproportionate collapse in buildings following an initial damage. The results from a global survey with 171 participants (mainly structural engineers) are presented. By comparing practices applied to different structural materials (steel, concrete and timber) and in different regions (Canada, USA, Europe, Australia/New Zealand), areas of improvements for the existing codes and guidelines as well as further research are identified. The results emphasise the importance of including specific recommendations for structural robustness in building codes, applicable to high importance and high occupancy structures. A performance-based approach is preferable, rather than prescriptive requirements, for practical and economic solutions. In addition, the obtained responses highlight the need to further develop the existing indirect and direct methods for disproportionate collapse prevention and structural robustness to include material-specific considerations.
AbstractThe expanding height of multistory mass timber buildings makes the development of guidance to prevent disproportionate collapse an increasingly important area of engineering design; however, ...there is no guidance available in building codes or design standards on how to prevent disproportionate collapse of multistory mass timber buildings. In this paper, practical project-specific solutions applied in constructed prominent multistory mass timber buildings to prevent disproportionate collapse are presented. Various approaches have been successfully used for different construction types of multistory mass timber buildings to decrease the potential risk of disproportionate collapse, such as using walls above supports as deep beams and using columns to carry tension forces and hold the floor below in case a supporting column or wall is damaged. Then, recent and ongoing research in the field of prevention of disproportionate collapse of multistory timber buildings is reviewed. Such research is mostly based on numerical simulations of element removal scenarios and pushdown experiments on floor systems and connections and provides valuable insights and guidance to designers on important structural aspects regarding the prevention of disproportionate collapse in multistory mass timber buildings. Finally, the draft provisions for an upcoming standard related to the prevention of disproportionate collapse are reviewed, and the conclusions regarding the state of the art are presented.
Polar-Coded Modulation Seidl, Mathis; Schenk, Andreas; Stierstorfer, Clemens ...
IEEE transactions on communications,
10/2013, Letnik:
61, Številka:
10
Journal Article
Recenzirano
A framework is proposed that allows for a joint description and optimization of both binary polar coding and 2 m -ary digital pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) schemes. For the latter, the multilevel ...coding (MLC) approach as well as bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) are considered. The conceptual equivalence of polar coding and multilevel coding is covered in detail. Based on an alternative characterization of the channel polarization phenomenon, rules for the optimum choice of the labeling in coded modulation schemes employing polar codes are developed. Simulation results regarding the error performance of the proposed schemes on the AWGN channel are included.
Beech (Fagus Sylvatica L.) is a prevalent tree species in Slovenia and is suitable for manufacturing glulam beams. However, beech wood has certain limitations that can potentially be mitigated by ...combining it with Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) wood to create hybrid beams. This study aimed to determine the bonding performance of commonly used melamine–urea–formaldehyde and polyurethane adhesives for these hybrid beams. Moreover, how varying the proportion of beech wood in a hybrid beam affects its mechanical properties was examined. Shear and delamination tests (method B) were conducted, and EN 14080:2013 requirements were met in all cases. The four-point bending tests of the beams showed that hybrid beams containing 20% of beech wood in the cross-sectional height on each side of the neutral axis exhibited a similar modulus of elasticity values as pure beech beams, but their strength was not equally improved. Hybrid beams with 11% of beech wood did not show any improvement in bending stiffness or strength compared to pure spruce beams. It was noted that the presence of beech wood in a hybrid beam can influence its failure mode. Furthermore, analytical calculations showed that a symmetrical lay-up is preferable to an asymmetrical one to increase the effective modulus of elasticity.
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