A 3 week 5 ECTS special course in August 2016 (1/8 - 19/8, 2016). Main teacher: Finn Larsen
The course is given on Master-level where a good understanding of static systems and calculation methods is expected.
The course aims are to give the students a basic understanding of using wood as a building material and as structural components.
The course will include an introduction to specific material properties of wood such as its orthotropic structure, its behaviour under moisture, fire and to properties depending on load duration. Throughout the course, the student has to design a structure, applying the most typical design methods for wood constructions. Lectures are given parallel to the design project and smaller tasks and aspects will be discussed and introduced as support for the project work.
Some of the major topics are beams, columns, instability problems, supports, displacement, torque, axial forces, transverse tensile, transverse pressure, curved geometries, moisture-related pressures/forces, collections (nailed, bolted, glued, glued-in bolts) and composite structures. Furthermore, materials such as normal wood, glulam, CLT (cross laminated timber) and wood based plate materials will be introduced.
The course will be a combination of short lectures, independent study, design and experimental work in the laboratory.
During the 3 weeks course one day per week is envisaged for experimental work in groups on topics related to specific aspects of using wood as structural material. Each experimentation day includes preparation, testing and reporting and is part of the overall assessment of the course. The hand-in of the different reports will follow a time schedule announced at the beginning of the course.
The design project includes the determination of loads according to Eurocodes, preparing static documentation following SBI guidance note 223, calculation of structures based on Eurocodes, as well as the production of adequate drawings. On the last day, all teams submit their project reports, calculations and drawings.
Evaluation: 7-step scale, internal examination
Learning objectives:
The student, who has completed the course in a satisfied way, will have acquired the following knowledge:
- Wood properties with respect to strength, rigidity, humidity, load duration, and fire impact.
- The 'state of the art' within wood structures including design of high-rise buildings in wood.
- Be able to define duration dependent loads on wood structures and perform calculating and design of simple and more complex structures in both solid and glulam timber. This concerns both building components and connections.
- Be able to assess and calculate bolt, nail and glue joints that can obtain tension, compression, shear, and moments.
- Generally, the student will be able to be part of a design team working with wood structures.