Construction and performance of a 1:2 scale timber structure under standardized load tests
Timber’s growing prominence in both new construction and heritage rehabilitation demands reliable methods to evaluate structural safety. However, most current load-testing protocols target concrete and overlook key timber-specific characteristics such as creep, delayed deflection, and service class...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Universidad del Bío-Bío
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Maderas: Ciencia y Tecnología |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://revistas.ubiobio.cl/index.php/MCT/article/view/7089 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Timber’s growing prominence in both new construction and heritage rehabilitation demands reliable methods to evaluate structural safety. However, most current load-testing protocols target concrete and overlook key timber-specific characteristics such as creep, delayed deflection, and service classes. This study addresses these gaps by investigating a 1:2 scale two-story timber prototype subjected to monotonic (UNE-EN 380) and cyclic (DAfStb) load tests. A comprehensive array of sensors captured time-dependent deflections and post-unloading recovery, revealing pronounced creep effects and highlighting the limits of existing standards to account for timber’s long-term deformation. Although cyclic tests can be completed more quickly, they do not adequately track delayed deflection behaviour crucial to timber structures; by contrast, the sustained-load protocols demanded by monotonic tests provide meaningful insights into creep and sostenibility considerations (such as water usage). These findings underscore the need to develop updated, consensus-based load-testing guidelines that better reflect timber’s unique mechanical response. Such standards would enable more accurate assessments of timber floors, roofs, and frames in both historic and contemporary contexts.
|
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0717-3644 0718-221X |