• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.145-152
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• 2023

Typical floor systems in contemporary tall buildings consist of reinforced concrete or composite metal deck over framing members and account for a majority of the structural weight of the building. The use of high-density materials, such as reinforced concrete and steel, increases the weight of floor systems, reducing the system's overall efficiency. With the introduction of high-performance materials, mainly mass timber products, and fiber-reinforced composites, in the construction industry, designers and engineers have multiple options to choose from when selecting structural materials. This paper discusses the application of mass timber and carbon fiber composites as structural materials in floor systems of tall buildings. The research focused on a comparative analysis of the structural system efficiency for five different design options for tall building floor systems. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) method was adopted to develop a simulation framework, and parametric structural models were simulated to evaluate the structural performance under specific loading conditions. Simulation results revealed the advantages of lightweight structural materials to improve system efficiency and reduce material consumption. The impact of mechanical properties of materials, loading conditions, and issues related to fire engineering and construction were briefly discussed, and future research topics were identified in conclusion.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.95-114
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• 2011

Western style timber roof trusses used as typical roof structures of buildings during a modern period have been developed with the interactions with their facade and functionality. The shapes of trusses and member sizes have been diversely changed by the purposes of architects, historical circumstances, and structural characteristics. For this reason, the change in the shapes of western style timber trusses along the times is one of important technology assets demonstrating the development of their structures during the modern period. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to find out their structural characteristics throughout parametric analysis of which parameters were determined from the collected and classified documents on western style timber roof structure built in the modern period carefully obtained from public institutions. Results of the parametric analysis are as follows. The number of king-post trusses and modified king-post trusses built between 1920 and 1937 reaches almost half of the total number of truss types investigated. The mean values of their spans, distances, tributary areas, and height are respectively, 10.5m, 2.4m, $24.37m^2$and 3.24m. The cross-section areas of trusses tend to reduce since the city construction law was enacted in 1920. Also, this study found that western architects usually used larger structural members than eastern architects and usages and finishing materials of roof trusses are not always considered as one of the important design parameters.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.429-442
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• 2023

To study the seismic vulnerability of the composite material structure of adobe and timber, we collected and statistically analysed empirical observation samples of 542,214,937 m² and 467,177 buildings that were significantly impacted during the 179 earthquakes that occurred in mainland China from 1976 to 2010. In multi-intensity regions, combined with numerical analysis and a probability model, a non-linear continuous regression model of the vulnerability, considering the empirical seismic damage area (number of buildings) and the ratio of seismic damage, was established. Moreover, a probability matrix model of the empirical seismic damage mean value was provided. Considering the coupling effect of the annual and seismic fortification factors, an empirical seismic vulnerability curve model was constructed in the multiple-intensity regions. A probability matrix model of the mean vulnerability index (MVI) was proposed, and was validated through the above-mentioned reconnaissance sample data. A matrix model of the MVI of the regions (19 provinces in mainland China) based on the parameter (MVI) was established.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.169-176
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• 2024

Designed ten years ago Sensations is still the highest all mass timber residential building in France. As a pilot project it had many challenges to overcome, and as architects it was a clear milestone in our commitment towards the development of wood construction. We invite you to explore the design and technical (behind the curtain) aspects of the story.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.241-248
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• 2018

To study the mechanical properties of joints in ancient timber buildings in depth, the force mechanism of the through-tenon joints was analyzed, also the theoretical formulas of the moment-rotation angles of the joints with different loosening degrees were deduced. To validate the rationality of the theoretical calculation formulas, six joint models with 1/3.2 scale ratio, including one intact joint and five loosening joints, were fabricated and tested under cyclic loading. The specimens underwent the elastic stage, the plastic stage and the destructive stage, respectively. At the same time, the moment-rotation backbone curves of the tenon joints with different looseness were obtained, and the theoretical calculation results were validated when compared with the experimental results. The results show that the rotational moment and the initial rotational stiffness of the tenon joints increase gradually with the increase of the friction coefficient. The increase of the tenon section height can effectively improve the bearing capacity of the through-tenon joints. As the friction coefficient of the wood and the insertion length of the tension increase, the embedment length goes up, whereas it decreases with the increase of section height. With the increase of the looseness, the bearing capacity of the joint is reduced gradually.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.299-311
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• 2018

As engineered timber such as Glulam is seeing increasing use in tall timber buildings, building codes are adapting to allow for this. In order for this material to be used confidently and safely in one of these applications, there is a need to understand the effects that fire can have on an engineered timber structural member. The post-fire resilience aspect of glulam is studied herein. Two sets of experiments are performed to consider the validity of zero strength guidance with respect to short duration fire exposure on thin glulam members. Small scale samples were heated in a cone calorimeter to different fire severities. These samples illustrated significant strength loss but high variability despite controlled quantification of char layers. Large scale samples were heated locally using a controlled fuel fire in shear and moment locations along the length of the beam respectively. Additionally, reduced cross section samples were created by mechanically carving a way an area of cross section equal to the area lost to char on the heated beams. All of the samples were then loaded to failure in four-point (laterally restrained) bending tests. The beams that have been burnt in the shear region were observed as having a reduction in strength of up to 34.5% from the control beams. These test samples displayed relatively little variability, apart from beams that displayed material defects. The suite of testing indicated that zero strength guidance may be under conservative and may require increasing from 7 mm up to as much as 23 mm.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.273-282
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• 2020

An innovative high-rise timber-concrete hybrid structure was proposed in previous research, which is composed of the concrete frame-tube structure and the prefabricated timber modules as main structure and substructures, respectively. Considering that the timber substructures are built on the concrete floors at a different height, the floor response spectrum is more effective in estimating the seismic response of substructures. In this paper, the floor response spectra of the hybrid structure with different structural parameters were calculated using dynamic time-history analysis. Firstly, one simplified model that can well predict the seismic response of the hybrid structure was proposed and validated. Then the construction site, the mass ratio and the frequency ratio of the main-sub structure, and the damping ratio of the substructures were discussed. The results demonstrate that the peaks of the floor response spectra usually occur near the vibration periods of the whole structure, among which the first two peaks stand out; In most cases, the acceleration amplification effect on substructures tends to be more evident when the construction site is farther from the fault rupture; On the other hand, the acceleration response of substructures can be effectively reduced with an appropriate increase in the mass ratio of the main-sub structure and the damping ratio of the substructures; However, the frequency ratio of the main-sub structure has no discernible effect on the floor response spectra. This study investigates the characteristics of the floor response spectrum of the novel timber-concrete structure, which supports the future applications of such hybrid structure in high-rise buildings.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.251-259
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• 2006

In some cases, wooden structures are used for medium-rise buildings. It is therefore necessary to develop and test a new structural system for medium-rise buildings using wooden structures. This study deals with high-performance, laminated, timber-based composite members, which consist of structural laminated timber and H-beam. Simple beam tests were performed to determine the strength, stress distributions, and failure patterns of laminated timber. The main parameters are the insertinglength (1, 1.5, and 2 times the H-beam height) and the epoxy between the top/bottom flange of the H-beam and the top/bottom flange of the laminated timber. The results of the test show that the specimen with an inserting length that is 2 times the H-beam height was characterized by fairly god strength and stiffness.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.561-576
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• 2022

Heritage timber structures represent the history and culture of a nation. These structures have been inherited from previous generations; however, they inevitably exhibit deterioration over time, potentially leading to structural deficiencies. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) offers the potential to assess operational anomalies, deterioration, and damage through processing and analysis of data collected from transducers and sensors mounted on the structure. This paper reports on the design and implementation of a long-term SHM system on the Feiyun Wooden Pavilion in China, a three-story timber building built more than 500 years ago. The principles and features of the design and implementation of SHM systems for heritage timber buildings are systematically discussed. In total, 104 sensors of 6 different types are deployed on the structure to monitor the environmental effects and structural responses, including air temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction, structural temperatures, strain, inclination, and acceleration. In addition, integrated data acquisition and transmission subsystem using a newly developed software platform are implemented. Selected preliminary statistical and correlation analysis using one year of monitoring data are presented to demonstrate the condition assessment capability of the system based on the monitoring data.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.331-345
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• 2020

The multi-story timber structure with high platform base is one of the important architectural types in the traditional Chinese buildings. To study the dynamic characteristics and seismic responses on this kind of traditional structure, the 3-D finite element models of Xi'an drum tower which included the high platform base, upper timber structure and whole structure was established considering the structural form and material performance parameters of the structure in this study. By the modal analysis, the main frequencies and mode shapes of this kind of traditional building were obtained and investigated. The three kinds of earthquake excitations included El-Centro wave, Taft wave and Lanzhou wave were separately imposed on the upper timber structure model and the overall structure model, and the seismic responses on the tops of columns were analyzed. The results of time history analysis show that the seismic response of the upper timber structure is obviously amplified by high platform base. After considering the effect of high platform base, the mean value on the lateral displacement increments of the top column in the overall structure is more than 20.478% and the increase of dynamic coefficients was all above 0.818 under the above three different earthquake excitations. Obviously, it shows that the existence of high platform base has a negative influence on the seismic responses of upper timber structure. And the high platform base will directly affect the safety of the upper timber structure. Therefore, the influence of high platform base on the dynamic response of its upper timber structure cannot be neglected.