Environmental Audit Committee Call for Evidence: “Sustainability of the Built Environment”
http://www.cambridge.org/engage/coe/article-detail... [Environmental Performance] [Others] 2021
Centre for Natural Material Innovation (CNMI)
The Centre for Natural Material Innovation in the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge is a cross-disciplinary centre, bringing together people and research in plant sciences, biochemistry, chemistry, fluid dynamics, engineering, and architecture. Through innovative research and experimentation, we aim to transform the way we build to achieve zero carbon emissions. Our work enables the substitution of artificial materials such as concrete and steel with nature-based material...

Update on a large-scale CLT experimental campaign for commercial enclosures
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355667853... [Design/Architectural aspects] [Magazine/Newspaper Article] 2021
Danny Hopkin, OFR Consultants, UK; Michael Spearpoint, OFR Consultants, UK; Carmen Gorska, Stora Enso, UK; Harald Krenn, KLH, Austria; Tim Sleik, Binderholz, Austria; Gordian Stapf, Henkel Engineered Wood, Switzerland and Wojciech Wegrznski, ITB, Poland.
When conceiving of a new office building in the UK, timber is increasingly considered as part of any potential framing solution. This is driven by a combination of embodied carbon, aesthetic and constructability considerations. Commercial premises, such as offices, often have specific user / client demands, with emphasis placed on high floor-to-ceiling heights, long spans between column members and large areas of glazing. For this reason, the UK market is converging upon hybrid construction solu...

Evaluating the importance of the embodied impacts of wall assemblies in the context of a low environmental impact energy mix
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/... [Environmental Performance] [Journal Article] 2022
Rosaline Larivière-Lajoie, Pierre Blanchet, Ben Amor
n the context of a low environmental impact energy mix, the embodied energy of building materials can account for up to 46% of a building's life cycle energy over a 50-year service life. Fifty percent of this energy corresponds to the combination of the structure and building envelope. While most studies have compared different residential building systems or wall assemblies, this study aims to quantify the contribution of initial embodied impacts to the environmental impacts of wall assemblies'...

The adoption of mass-engineered timber (MET) in the Singapore construction industry: Barriers and drivers
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/... [Markets] [Journal Article] 2021
Sui Pheng Low, Shang Gao, Shei Kee Ng
The immense consumption of energy and quantities of carbon emissions produced by the built environment have garnered considerable attention globally. As concrete currently dominates the materials used in building construction, it has become an ever-pressing issue if the emissions of the construction industry are to be reduced. One approach to minimizing the environmental impact of construction is to use building materials whose production and implementation have smaller environmental footprints....

Study on shear performance of notched connections for glulam-concrete composite beams under fire
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/... [Connectors] [Journal Article] 2021
Danrong Shi, Xiamin Hu, Hao Du, Zhong Xie, Yanfei Meng
hear connection guarantees that the timber beam and concrete slab of a composite beam interact effectively. Shear connection performance markedly affects the fire resistance of timber-concrete composite beams. Shear connection experiments under fire are uncommon in comparison to those conducted at ambient temperature, and there have been few previous investigations on the shear performance of notched connections under fire. Six specimens were sheared at ambient temperature and ten specimens were...

Quantifying the attributional and consequential impacts of Kenya’s future timber construction developments: Ndarugu Student City
https://pubs.iied.org/20556g... [Markets] [Report] 2021
Marc Mohajer
Earth is getting closer to experiencing temperature increases beyond the Paris Agreement targets. Climate change is affecting crop production, especially among African farmers who are looking for more resilient alternatives, including timber. African population growth is expected to double to 2.1 billion by 2050. Urban migration into cities such as Nairobi in Kenya will continue rapidly. Affordable housing is in short supply especially for groups like student. Here as elsewhere, the built enviro...

Finite Element Model Updating of a Multi-Storey CLT-Building and Analysis of Modal Performance Indicators
https://nmbu.brage.unit.no/nmbu-xmlui/bitstream/ha... [Mechanical Performance] [Thesis/Dissertation] 2021
Carl-Ulrik Dahle Gurholt, Jonas Næss Mikalsen
The dynamic behaviour of multi-storey CLT-buildings due to operational excitation is an open issue; few in-situ test have been carried out to estimate their modal parameters. Moreover, there is a gap in knowledge about the use of ambient vibration measurements for model-updating purposes of timber buildings, and the performance indicators of timber buildings due to operational excitation is not yet thoroughly studied. In this thesis, the results of Operational Modal Analysis is interpreted and a...

Performance evaluation of a novel cross-laminated timber made from flattened bamboo and wood lumber
https://bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu/resources/perfor... [Raw Materials] [Journal Article] 2021
Wei, P., Wang, B. J., Li, H., Wang, L., Gong, Y., and Huang, S.
novel flattened bamboo-wood composite cross-laminated timber (CCLT) made from flattened bamboo and hemlock lumber was developed, and its mechanical performance was investigated and quantified in this work. The results demonstrated that the CCLT columns and control hemlock CLT counterparts had nearly equal axial compression strength, but the CCLT yielded a higher compression modulus of elasticity (MOE). Additionally, the CCLT compression behaviors were not significantly affected by the height. C...

Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) Beams Loaded in Plane: Testing Stiffness and Shear Strength
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil... [Mechanical Performance] [Journal Article] 2019
Francesco Boggian, Mauro Andreolli, Roberto Tomasi
ross Laminated Timber (CLT) is a relatively new timber product used in construction that has gained popularity over the last decade. The product itself is constituted by multiple glued layers of juxtaposed boards, usually arranged in an orthogonal direction between one layer and the adjacent ones. This particular structure brings several benefits, such as the possibility to use the same product both for walls and slabs, since it can bear in-plane and out-of-plane loads. However, the mechanical b...

Strand-Based Engineered Wood Products in Construction
https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/78901... [Raw Materials] [Book/Book Section] 2021
Zizhen Gao and Meng Gong
Strand-based engineered wood products (EWPs) have been widely employed in construction since their emergence in the 1970s. The use of strand-based EWPs can significantly increase the yield of forest resources by utilizing submarginal logs and branches. In this chapter, the strand-based EWPs, including oriented strand board (OSB), laminated strand lumber (LSL), and oriented strand lumber (OSL), are discussed in terms of their fabrication, properties, and uses in construction. Specifically, the ma...

Timber Structures
https://idp.springer.com/authorize?response_type=c... [Fire Performance] [Book/Book Section] 2021
Daniel Brandon, Danny Hopkin, Richard Emberley, Colleen Wade
This chapter examines structural fire engineering considerations that are specific to timber, which is a relatively emerging construction material for large engineered buildings. First, thermal and mechanical properties of timber at elevated temperatures are discussed. Second, failure modes specific to timber structures (e.g., adhesive debonding) are examined. Lastly, pertinent analysis techniques for structural fire engineering applications involving timber structures are presented. The renaiss...

Keys to Successful Design
https://idp.springer.com/authorize?response_type=c... [Fire Performance] [Book/Book Section] 2021
Martin Feeney, Kevin LaMalva, Spencer Quiel
The primary keys to a successful structural fire engineering design include the following: effective conveyance of the method's benefits, setting realistic expectations, and proper execution of the design. As structural fire engineering design is relatively new to many jurisdictions (e.g., North America) the impact of these aspects can become amplified. Hence, the designer should be well prepared when embarking as such, and this section provides applicable guidance....

Barriers to the use of sustainable materials in Australian building projects
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110... [Markets] [Journal Article] 2021
Sheetal Gounder, Abid Hasan, Asheem Shrestha, Abbas Elmualim
Although the adverse effects of construction activities on the environment and the need for sustainable construction practices are recognised in both research and practice, any significant shift in the selection and use of construction materials from the sustainability perspective has not taken place in many building projects. Still, conventional construction materials are widely used in building projects in both developed and developing countries. This study attempts to identify the main barrie...

Equivalent lateral force procedure for a building with a self-centering rocking story of cross-laminated timber (CLT) walls
https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/63244... [Seismic Performance] [Conference Paper] 2021
Lo Ricco, Marco; Rammer, Douglas; Amini, M. Omar; Ghorbanpoor, Al; Pei, Shiling; Zimmerman, Reid B.
The Equivalent Lateral Force (ELF) procedure is the most widely used seismic analysis approach, because of its simplicity and practicality in preliminary and final design phases. This paper applies the ELF procedure to a hypothetical building that stands 5 stories tall, with a 4-story superstructure supported on a rocking story of elliptically profiled cross-laminated timber (CLT) walls. First-generation prototypes made from six CLT panels of 5-ply, 175 mm, thickness—each measuring 2.44 m by 3.6...

State of research for shear connector performance in steel-CLT composite beams
http://journalmtc.com/index.php/mtcj/article/view/... [Alternative/Hybrid Configurations] [Journal Article] 2021
Cooke, M., Nodland, E., & Welt, T.
The emergence of cross-laminated timber (CLT) as a sustainable construction material in the United States is opening commercial and industrial building stock to the timber industry, an area otherwise currently dominated by structural steel and reinforced concrete. CLT panels are limited in span, requiring the use of timber or steel beams and columns. This paper presents an in-depth review of existing research focused on shear connector performance with respect to composite beam action between C...

Cyclic response of CLT Post-Tensioned Walls: Experimental and numerical investigation
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/... [Mechanical Performance] [Journal Article] 2021
Franz Richter, Freddy X. Jervis, Xinyan Huang, Guillermo Rein
This paper presents the main outcomes of full-scale cyclic tests on CLT post-tensioned walls. Investigated systems were constituted by rocking dissipative timber walls, whose main features were the re-centering of walls, low damage in case of seismic actions, additional hysteretic dissipation, and easy replacement of dampers. Referring to previous experimental campaign on LVL and CLT structures available in literature, the proposed post-tensioned CLT wall system was conceived employing an innova...

Effect of oxygen on the burning rate of wood
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/... [Fire Performance] [Journal Article] 2021
Franz Richter, Freddy X. Jervis, Xinyan Huang, Guillermo Rein
The large-scale adoption of wood as a construction material for tall buildings could pave the way for sustainable construction. Its adoption, however, is hindered by a limited understanding of wood's behaviour in a fire. In particular, the effect of oxygen and heat flux on the burning (including pyrolysis) and ignition behaviour of wood is poorly understood. We addressed this gap by studying the effect of oxygen concentration and heat flux on the burning and ignition behaviour of particleboard e...

CLT concrete composite floors with steel kerf plate connectors
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/... [Connectors] [Journal Article] 2022
Md Shahnewaz, Robert Jackson, Thomas Tannert
This paper presents experimental investigations on timber-concrete-composite (TCC) floors with transversely installed steel kerf plates as shear connectors. The TCC system was comprised of 245 mm thick, 7-ply cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels with 150 mm concrete topping. Three embedment depths of the steel kerf plates in CLT (35 mm, 70 mm, and 90 mm) were evaluated at hand of 18 small-scale shear tests. It was shown to be beneficial to only engage the top layer of the CLT panel in order to av...

Effects of bonding pressure and lamina thickness on mechanical properties of CLT composed of southern yellow pine
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/5327/... [Raw Materials] [Thesis/Dissertation] 2021
Cody S. Bates
This study produced cross-laminated timber panels at a range of four lamina thickness (5/8, 1, 1 1/8, and 1 1/4 inch) and three bonding pressures (50, 125, 200 psi), producing a total of 12 panels for mechanical testing. The goal of this study is to observe how the thickness and pressure trends affect the mechanical properties of CLT. Tests include flatwise bending, flatwise shear, internal-bond, and delamination. Results showed that bending MOE decreases as the panel thickness increases while b...

Complementary Building Concept: Wooden Apartment Building: The Noppa toward Zero Energy Building Approach
https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/79560... [Environmental Performance] [Book/Book Section] 2021
Markku Karjalainen, Hüseyin Emre Ilgın, Marie Yli-Äyhö and Anu Soikkeli
Increasing the construction of wooden apartment buildings has its place as part of preventing climate change. This chapter aims to explore the possibilities of expanding the construction of wooden apartment buildings on plots owned by the City of Helsinki in the Mellunkylä area by developing a series-produced wooden apartment building concept suitable for complementary construction—The Noppa concept. The sustainability of this approach is considered from the perspective of materials, constructio...