Seismic Design of Timber Buildings: Highlighted Challenges and Future Trends

Abstract

Use of timber as a construction material has entered a period of renaissance since the development of high-performance engineered wood products, enabling larger and taller buildings to be built. In addition, due to substantial contribution of the building sector to global energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and waste production, sustainable solutions are needed, for which timber has shown a great potential as a sustainable, resilient and renewable building alternative, not only for single family homes but also for mid-rise and high-rise buildings. Both recent technological developments in timber engineering and exponentially increased use of engineered wood products and wood composites reflect in deficiency of current timber codes and standards. This paper presents an overview of some of the current challenges and emerging trends in the field of seismic design of timber buildings. Currently existing building codes and the development of new generation of European building codes are presented. Ongoing studies on a variety topics within seismic timber engineering are presented, including tall timber and hybrid buildings, composites with timber and seismic retrofitting with timber. Crucial challenges, key research needs and opportunities are addressed and critically discussed.

Influence of the rocking behavior of shearwalls on the fundamental period of CLT structures

“…Recently, Shahnewaz et al 28 estimated the seismic fragility of CLT buildings through incremental dynamic analyses (IDAs) by using a nonlinear numerical model, whereas Van de Lindt et al 30 determined the seismic performance factors for CLT buildings in platform type according to the FEMA P695 methodology. A review of current challenges and emerging trends for the seismic design of timber buildings was presented by Pei et al, 2 Izzi et al, 5 and Stepinac et al 27 …”

Special Issue on “Buildings and Structures under Extreme Loads”

“…A first set of papers reports on earthquake structural design of structures and buildings [1][2][3][4][5]. Various kinds of structures have been considered under the effects of seismic loads, including steel frames [1], liquid storage tanks [2], and an experimental prototype of atrium-style underground metro station [3], but also existing masonry structures [4] or new timber buildings [5], presenting a perspective review on their seismic design. Among others, a extreme natural event is certainly represented by windstorms.…”

Improved Strength and Stiffness Characteristics of Cross-laminated Poplar Timber Columns

“…Also, CLT has displayed a satisfactory seismic-resistant performance, when used as floor diaphragms and shear walls [23,24]. Recently, CLT has been used for tall timber and hybrid buildings, and seismic retrofitting of capacity deficit member [25]. Most of the research on CLT (glulam) has been focused on beams, while very limited research output on columns is available.…”