Analysis of the Residual Deformation of Yingxian Wood Pagoda

Abstract

Cumulative damage and residual deformation of structural components of Yingxian Wood Pagoda over its existence have caused widespread concern. Because Yingxian Wood Pagoda is a very complex ancient wooden structure, previous studies on single-storey and multistorey ancient structures are not very applicable. In this study, the deformation to the pagoda at the components, storey, and overall structure levels was monitored considering residual deformation, component cracking, and component connection conditions. The effects of different factors were preliminarily identified, including the structural weight, external impacts such as earthquakes and artillery shells, differences in moisture content according to sunlight exposure, and the prevailing wind direction. The study findings are useful in diagnosing the health and causes of deformation of unique buildings such as this in order to develop effective repair and restoration measures.

Sustainability in wood materials science: an opinion about current material development techniques and the end of lifetime perspectives

“…Impressive buildings were constructed from wood, such as the Sakyamuni Pagoda, a Buddhist temple in Yingxian (China, figure 2 a ). Built from larch and elm wood, it is still one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world (67 m), although it is almost 1000 years old [25]. However, in the wake of the twentieth century, wood was more and more replaced by steel and concrete.…”

Deterioration of Microstructures and Properties in Ancient Architectural Wood from Yingxian Wooden Pagoda (1056 AD) during Natural Aging

“…Ancient timber constructions, as architectural wooden artifacts, are of exceptional historical, cultural, anthropological, economic, artistic, archaeological, and scientific value [2,[4][5][6][7]. The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda (1056 AD), located in Shanxi province, China, is a particularly remarkable example, as it is the oldest and highest extant pure-wooden structure in the world, with a height of 67.58 m (Figure 1a) [3,5,8]. It has attracted extensive attention and research due to the mystery of standing for a millennium [3,[8][9][10][11][12].…”

“…The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda (1056 AD), located in Shanxi province, China, is a particularly remarkable example, as it is the oldest and highest extant pure-wooden structure in the world, with a height of 67.58 m (Figure 1a) [3,5,8]. It has attracted extensive attention and research due to the mystery of standing for a millennium [3,[8][9][10][11][12].…”

“…This study hypothesizes that the ancient architectural wood and recent larch wood will exhibit differences in microstructures and chemical components in wood cell walls, and therefore, their physical and mechanical properties will differ. This study aims to investigate the deterioration of microstructures and properties in the ancient architectural wood taken from the upper part of a baluster in the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda (1056 AD) located in Shanxi province, China (Figure 1b-d), where the annual average temperature is 1.84 • C with a minimum of −15.20 • C in December and a maximum of 15.55 • C in July, and the annual average environmental humidity is 52.8% with a minimum of 36.2% in March and a maximum of 68.2% in August [8]. The ancient architectural wood has been identified microscopically as larch wood (Larix principis-rupprechtii Mayr.…”