The Winds of Change?
In 1992, Hurricanes Andrew and Iniki combined to generate an estimated $30 billion in damage. The storms also generated their share of reports and recommendations about how best to mitigate...
Wheel Space Station for 2025
The advantages and disadvantages of three basic space station designs are discussed. These designs are a zero-gravity can like Skylab, a tethered system, and the wheel. A design of a wheel...
A Dome For the 21st Century
Putting a circular dome on a square building--the classical architectural design challenge--takes on new proportions at the Federal Building and Courthouse in Charleston, W. Va. The 170...
Load Duration Effects in an 85-Year-Old Timber Structure
Duration of load (DOL) effects are assessed in 85-year-old heavy timber trusses using five common DOL models. These models are based on the idea of static damage accumulation. Material...
Seismic Study of Historic Bridges in Eastern United States
The main objective of this paper is to study the Barrackville bridge and its response in resisting static and seismic loads. Since the design was based on controlled deflections, the analyses...
An Application of a Coulomb Damped Mass Device
A new, passive, dissipation device which utilizes Coulomb friction to reduce horizontal structural motions is adapted to an actual vertical vibration problem. An analysis by numerical...
Harmonization of Reliability-Based Timber Engineering Codes and Standards
An overview of activities related to harmonization of reliability-based timber design codes and standards is presented. The overview is based on information generated through a NATO Advanced...
Use of Composite Timber-concrete Floors in Residential Buildings
Timber-concrete floors are widely used in the Gulf region for its resistance to hot and aggressive environment of the area. However, due to the fact that no shear connector is provided,...
The Canadian Approach in the Design of Wood Structures: Conversion to Limit States Design
During the early 70's, the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) established the principle that structural design be carried out using the limit states design (LSD) method. The technical...
Evaluation of Wood Floor Vibration Design Criteria
In the United States, floors in wood buildings are designed according to strength and deflection criteria under static uniform loads. With the introduction of engineered joist products...
Strength Variability of Wood Formwork Members
Failure of concrete formwork is one of the main causes of concrete construction failures. Among the main causes of formwork failure is inadequate strength. Currently there is no published...
LRFD Provisions for Wood Bridges
A project to develop a load and resistance factor design (LRFD) edition of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Standard Specifications for Highway...
A Self-Balancing Laminate
A self balancing wood laminate has been developed based on the principle of orthotropic elasticity. Lumber is cut into three sections in the flatwise plane and each side member is turned...
Metal Truss Plates: Less than Full-Depth Penetration and Shear Buckling
This paper presents the results of two experimental studies on metal truss plates which are used to join members of wood trusses. The first study investigated the effect that less than...
Response of Stressed Timber T - and Box-Beam Bridges
The objective of this study is to establish the strength, stiffness, and transverse load distribution factors of stressed timber T-, Bulk T-, and Box-beam bridge systems. To achieve the...
Natural Decay Resistance of Glued-Laminated Beams
The natural decay resistance of untreated Douglas-fir heartwood specimens sampled from glued-laminated beams was evaluated using a modified agar plate test modeled after the European Standard...
Fracture Analysis of Bolted Timber Connections
Application of fracture mechanics concepts to splice connections where bolts load timber members perpendicular to the grain is discussed. Attention is given to prediction of the load level...
Validation of the European Yield Model for Nailed Connections
Recent changes in National Design Specification for Wood Construction (NDS) connection design methods make it necessary to validate the European yield model (EYM) for nails. Test values...
Special Considerations in the Design of Connections for Recycled Wood/Plastic Composite Lumber
There is current work in the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) to evaluate potential test methods for what they refer to as 'commingled' plastic lumber. This category covers...
Low Strain Dynamic Testing of Wood Piles Supporting an Existing Pier
This paper presents a case history where low strain dynamic testing was performed to test wood piles supporting an existing structure. Under consideration is a 183 m long wooden pier constructed...
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