Lack of research and design information for the seismic performance of balloon-type CLT shear walls prevents CLT from being used as an acceptable solution to resist seismic loads in balloon-type mass-timber buildings. To quantify the performance of balloon-type CLT structures subjected to lateral loads and create the research background for future code implementation of balloon-type CLT systems in CSA O86 and NBCC, FPInnovations initiated a project to determine the behaviour of balloon-type CLT construction. A series of tests on balloon-type CLT walls and connections used in these walls were conducted. Analytical models were developed based on engineering principles and basic mechanics to predict the deflection and resistance of the balloon-type CLT shear walls. This report covers the work related to development of the analytical models and the tests on balloon-type CLT walls that the models were verified against.
FPInnovations carried out a survey with consultants and researchers on the use of analytical models and software packages related to the analysis and design of mass timber buildings. The responses confirmed that a lack of suitable models and related information for material properties of timber connections, in particular under combination of various types of loads and fire, was creating an impediment to the design and construction of this type of buildings. Furthermore, there is currently a lack of computer models for use in performance-based design for wood buildings, in particular, seismic and fire performance-based design.
In this study, a sophisticated constitutive model for wood-based composite material under stress and temperature was developed. This constitutive model was programmed into a user-subroutine and can be added to most general-purpose finite element software. The developed model was used to model the structural performance of a laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beam and a glulam bolted connection under force and/or fire. Compared with the test results, it shows that the developed model was capable of simulating the mechanical behaviour of LVL beam and glulam connection under load and/or fire with fairly good correlation.
With this model, it will allow structural designers to obtain the load-displacement curve of timber connections under force, fire or combination of the two. With this, key design parameters such as capacity, stiffness, displacement and ductility, which are required for seismic or fire design, can be obtained.
It is recommended that further verification and calibration of the model be conducted on various types of wood products, such as CLT, glulam, SCL and NLT, and fasteners, e.g. screw and rivet. Moreover, a database of the thermal and structural properties of the wood members and fasteners that are commonly used in timber constructions need to be developed to support and facilitate the application of the model.
Advanced Wood-based Solutions for Mid-rise and High-rise Construction: Structural Performance of Post-Tensioned CLT Shear Walls with Energy Dissipators
The latest developments in seismic design philosophy have been geared towards developing of so called "resilient" or "low damage" innovative structural systems that can reduce damage to the structure while offering the same or higher levels of safety to occupants. One such innovative structural system is the Pres-Lam system that is a wood-hybrid system that utilizes post-tensioned (PT) mass timber components in both rigid-frame and wall-based buildings along with various types of energy disspators. To help implement the Pres-Lam system in Canada and the US, information about the system performance made with North American engineered wood products is needed. That information can later be used to develop design guidelines for the designers for wider acceptance of the system by the design community. Several components influence the performance of the Pres-Lam systems: the load-deformation properties of the engineered wood products under compression, load-deformation and energy dissipation properties of the dissipators used, placement of the dissiaptors in the system, and the level of post-tensioning force. The influence of all these components on the performance of Pres-Lam wall systems under gravity and lateral loads was investigated in this research project. The research project consisted on two main parts: material tests and system tests.
In the material tests part of the program, a total of 110 compression tests were conducted to determine the load-deformation properties of four different engineered wood products (LVL, LSL, Glulam and CLT) in various directions. The LVL, LSL and Glulam specimens tested under compression parallel to grain had similar linear elastic behaviour with limited ductility. The CLT specimens tested under compression in the major-axis direction had linear elastic behaviour with moderate plasticity. Depending on the type of engineered wood product, typical failure modes included crushing, shear, wedge split and splitting. The compressive strength of the products tested ranged from 42.1 to 53.5 MPa, the global MOE (of the entire specimen under compression) varied between 6390 and 9554 MPa, the local (near the crushing surface) MOE parallel to grain was in the range of 2211 to 5090 MPa, while the local to global MOE ratio ranged from 29.2 to 58.0%, and was higher with the increase in the oven-dry density.
The specimens of the four different engineered wood products tested under compression perpendicular to grain or in the minor-axis direction had elastic-plastic behaviour with a clearly defined plastic plateau. Crushing (densification) of the fibres perpendicular to grain was the main failure mode for all specimens, and was in some cases followed by in-plane shear failure or cracking perpendicular to grain. Compression parallel to grain in the middle layer that was followed by its delamination and buckling was a unique failure mode for CLT specimens tested under compression in the minor strength direction. The compressive strength of the engineered wood products tested were in the range of 4.8 to 27.8 MPa, while the global and local MOE perpendicular to grain were in the range of 244 to 2555 MPa, and 320 to 1726 MPa, respectively. The compressive strength and global MOE perpendicular to grain increased with an increase in the oven-dry density. The results show no well-defined trend for the local MOE perpendicular to grain. The specimens loaded in the centre perpendicular to grain had higher strength, global and local MOE than those loaded at the end.
A convenient and timesaving design for the axial energy dissipators (fuses) was developed by replacing the epoxy in the original design with two half-tubes. Compared to the original design of fuses with epoxy, the new design with two half-tubes had similar necking failure mode and a longer failure displacment, thus providing user-friendly fuses that performed similar or even better than the original design.
In the system tests part of the program, a total of 17 different PT and Pres-Lam CLT walls with six different configurations were tested under monotonic and reversed cyclic loading. The studied parameters included the level of PT force, the position of the fuses, and the number of UFPs. CLT shear walls subjected only to post-tensioning, had non-linear elastic behaviour. The behaviour of the PT walls with and without energy dissipators was relatively similar under monotonic and cyclic loading. The strength degradation observed during the cyclic tests was low in all wall configurations suggesting that very little damage was inflicted upon the structure during the first cycles at any deformation level. Four major failure modes, including yielding and buckling of fuse, crushing and splitting of wood at the end of wall, and buckling of lumber in the exterior-layer of CLT wall, were observed in the tests. The yielding in fuses occurred at the early stage of loading as designed and the other failure modes happened when the lateral drift reached or beyond 2.5%.
The initial stiffness of the single-panel PT CLT walls tested ranged from 1.80 to 2.31 kN/mm, the load at the decompression point and 2.5% drift were in the range of 4.2 to 14.9 kN and 32.7 to 45.9 kN, respectively. The initial stiffness of the single-panel Pres-Lam CLT walls tested ranged from 1.69 to 2.44 kN/mm, the load at the decompression point and 2.5% drift were in the range of 21.0 to 30.2 kN and 59.6 to 69.8 kN, respectively. All the mechanical properties increased with an increase in the PT force. The average initial stiffness and the load at 2.5% drift of the coupled-panel Pres-Lam CLT walls tested were 4.59 kN/mm and 151.3 kN, respectively, while the load at the decompression point increased from 58.4 to 69.7 kN by increasing the number of UFP. The test results show that the behaviour of the Pre-Lam CLT shear walls can be de-coupled and a “superposition rule” can be applied to obtain the stiffness and resistance of such system.
The test results gave a valuable insight into the structural behaviour of the PT and Pres-Lam CLT shear wall under in-plane lateral loads. The data from the testing will be used in the future for development of numerical computer models. They will also be used for development of design guidelines for this system. All tests conducted in this study and the analyses in the future modelling research will form the basis for developing future design guidelines for PT and Pres-Lam mass timber systems.
FPInnovations a effectué un essai en laboratoire afin d’étudier la teneur en humidité (TH) du bois lamellé-croisé (CLT) découlant du coulage de chapes de béton, et l’efficacité avec laquelle un enduit imperméabilisant et une membrane permettent de de prévenir cette humidification.
FPInnovations conducted a laboratory test to investigate the potential wetting of cross-laminated timber (CLT) from the pouring of concrete topping, and the effectiveness of a water repellent coating and membrane in preventing such wetting.
The objective of this work is to generate fire resistance data for NLT assemblies to address significant gaps in technical knowledge. This research will support designers and builders in the use of mass timber assemblies in larger and taller buildings, as well as provide scientific justification for Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) to review and accept this construction method. The intent is to demonstrate that NLT construction can meet or exceed NBCC fire safety requirements for use in buildings of mass timber construction.
The data could be used towards the inclusion of an NLT fire resistance calculation methodology into Annex B of CSA O86 – Engineering Design for Wood [4], which currently addresses only glue-laminated timber (GLT), structural composite lumber (SCL) and cross-laminated timber (CLT).
The objective of this work is to generate fire performance data for NLT assemblies to address gaps in technical knowledge. This project aims to study how the size of gaps between NLT boards might affect charring of an assembly and its overall fire performance. This research will support designers and builders in the use of mass timber assemblies in larger and taller buildings, by ensuring fire safe designs.
The objective of this project is to establish fundamental fire performance data for the design and specification of NLT assemblies; this project specially addresses determining FSRs for NLT. The goal of this project is to confirm that NLT, when used as a mass timber element, has a lower FSR than standard thickness SPF boards when tested individually and flatwise. The project also considers how the surface profiles, design details, and the direction of an assembly might influence flame spread. This includes the evaluation of typical architectural features, such as a ‘fluted’ profile.
Having this technical information will support project approvals for the use of NLT elements in larger and taller wood buildings, as well as provide scientific justification for Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) to review and accept this construction method. This research will provide the evidence for designers to demonstrate their design have met or exceeded fire safety requirements. Ultimately the intent is to expand the adoption of manufactured solid timber construction for larger and taller buildings, as well as for non-traditional wood markets (such as institutional or commercial buildings).
Other aspects of this project (in separate reports) include evaluating fire resistance of NLT, and assessing how NLT charring rates might be affected by gaps between boards.
Computer modelling is an essential part in the analysis and design of mid- and high-rise residential and commercial buildings as well as long-span structures. It is also a valuable tool in the optimisation of wood-based products, connections, and systems. An FPInnovations’ survey shows that practicing engineers are unfamiliar with timber structure modelling, and researchers generally lack resources for advanced modelling of timber systems. Furthermore, wood analysis and design modules currently implemented in a few structural analysis software are usually not suitable for complex or hybrid timber structures. This does not bode well given that performance-based design which is the future direction of building codes and material standards will rely even more on demonstrating the structural performance through computer modelling. In this project, a modelling guide for timber structures is being developed by FPInnovations with a global collaborative effort involving experts in various areas, with the aim of (a) assisting practicing engineers apply computer modelling to timber structures; (b) enriching researchers’ resources for advanced computer modelling of timber systems; and (c) assisting software companies to identify the gaps and upgrade their programs accordingly to accommodate advanced computer modelling of timber structures.
Braced timber frames (BTFs) are one of the most efficient structural systems to resist lateral loads induced by earthquakes or high winds. Although BTFs are implemented as a system in the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC), no design guidelines currently exist in CSA O86. That not only leaves these efficient systems out of reach of designers, but also puts them in danger of being eliminated from NBCC. The main objective of this project is to generate the technical information needed for development of design guidelines for BTFs as a lateral load resisting system in CSA O86. The seismic performance of 30 BTFs with riveted connections was studied last year by conducting nonlinear dynamic analysis; and also 15 glulam brace specimens using bolted connections were tested under cyclic loading.
In the second year of the project, a relationship between the connection and system ductility of BTFs was derived based on engineering principles. The proposed relationship was verified against the nonlinear pushover analysis results of single- and multi-storey BTFs with various building heights. The influence of the connection ductility, the stiffness ratio, and the number of tiers and storeys on the system ductility of BTFs was investigated using the verified relationship. The minimum connection ductility for different categories (moderately ductile and limited ductility) of BTFs was estimated.
