START - Structural Timber and Applied Research Team

Last week, the University of Waterloo Faculty of Engineering featured work completed by Daniela Roscetti during their MASc under the supervision of Professors Daniel Lacroix and Andrea Atkins. A novel CLT wall-to-floor connection destined for modular housing was developed and tested in the laboratory. The connector plate was intentionally designed for ease of disassembly and reassembly, idea for multiple reuses and relocations. The plate connector far exceeded its design capacity and proved fit for reuse following several cycles of loading, disassembly and reassembly. The work was presented at the 2022 and 2023 CSCE Annual Conferences. A manuscript is currently under preparation. The thesis can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gsQ5wBZD. Great work Daniela! Here's a link to the original post (https://lnkd.in/g_Q8a7Ka).

Interested in the performance of a commercially available construction adhesive for use in long-span mass timber composite panels? Then check out our latest open-access paper “Development of a glue bonded shear connections aimed for mass timber composites” in the International Wood Products Journal. https://lnkd.in/eJ587WQ2 Tyler Hull, Paige Ackerman, and Daniel Lacroix discuss the research group’s experience working with and fabricating mass timber composite elements with PL Premium MAX and different pressure application methods. The paper discusses the effects of varying clamping pressure on the glue-line thickness, surface coverage, and load-slip behaviour. The resulting load-slip behaviour is compared to other viable mass timber composite connection configurations. Recommendations for the volume of adhesive to use in the fabrication of these connections are also proposed. PL Premium MAX has proven to be a strong and stiff adhesive, that is easy to work with, maintains performance at various clamping pressures, and can fill gaps between the two elements. Look out for future papers on the adhesive and mass timber composite panels. Thanks to everyone involved in the project, and please reach out to our group if you are considering using mass timber composite panels on a future project and would like more insight! #masstimber #research #timberstructures #screwglued #uofwaterloo #strcuturalengineering #composite

Exciting new equipment in the START - Structural Timber and Applied Research Team lab!! 💻 We were happy to have the team from High Speed Imaging Inc. in to setup, and run the team through training on the new Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system. DIC testing techniques will provide the group full-field optical monitoring of deformations and strains on future experimental research programs. Historically, discrete measurements using sensors such as strain gauges or extensometer were used to acquire data during laboratory tests. However, the natural variability of wood can make discrete measurements an inaccurate indication of the more global behaviour of the wood element. The group went through a variety of demonstrations tests in bending and compression to become versed in the DIC setup and postprocessing data capabilities. Shown below are the images of a 2x6 board tested in flexure analyzed using the DIC system. You can see the highest tension strains developing at the bottom of the member around a knot in the wood. Look out for the the system on future research and publications on mass timber composite beams, FRP reinforced beams, and form fitting connections! The team would like to thank the HSI team Chris Keay, Kishan Prithipaul, Sid Sood, Randeep Sood for providing START with the innovative system for mass timber research! We can't wait to see what the possibilities with the system are! Daniel Lacroix, Tyler Hull, Herry Chen, Catherine Shrimpton, Maxime Daviau, Sultani Mulk Khan, University of Waterloo, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering - University of Waterloo

"This roadmap is really going to help us with our competitiveness in a global sense but, more importantly, it's going to allow us to bring mass timber [as a solution to] the challenges that are facing Canada around Net Zero and the affordable housing crisis." Canadian Wood Council President and CEO Rick Jeffery spoke at this morning's media event in Ottawa that saw the release of the #TheMassTimberRoadmap. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eavpsvMt

Last week a number of members of our team had the opportunity to share our research at the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering / La Société canadienne de génie civil Annual Conference in Niagara Falls. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with colleagues, meet other researchers, and present our timber research work. A highlight for the whole team was the social evening at the Queen Victoria Restaurant and evening tour of the Niagara Power Plant and Tunnel beside the falls! The group had a total of four papers presented at the conference by Tyler Hull, Catherine Shrimpton, Herry Chen, and Mateya Hughes ranging from mass timber composite panels to modular construction and innovative material uses. Well done team! 🎉 👏 Look out for the publication of the papers in the proceedings of the CSCE 2024 Conference 📃 Scroll to the end of the photos to see some of the sights and sounds of the Niagara region visited by our team. #CSCE2024 #MassTimber #Research #UniversityofWaterloo #TimberStructures #CivilEngineering

The University of Waterloo and held its 2024 Alumni Reunion and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering - University of Waterloo had its Main Structures Laboratory open as part of the Engineering Tours. We are proud of the members from START (Tyler Hull, Catherine Shrimpton, Javier Fierro, and Cosmo Sun) for stepping up and offering lab tours to showcase ongoing research within our Department! As a bonus, they tested several specimens of cross-laminated-timber, engineered bamboo composites, and tropical hardwood for our audiences! The team’s presentations fostered a number of discussions with the alumni, with many wanting to stay longer to discuss mass timber construction further. Thank you for making this event a success! #uwaterloo #engineering #uwaterlooalumni #masstimber

The University of Waterloo and held its 2024 Alumni Reunion and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering - University of Waterloo had its Main Structures Laboratory open as part of the Engineering Tours. We are proud of the members from START (Tyler Hull, Catherine Shrimpton, Javier Fierro, and Cosmo Sun) for stepping up and offering lab tours to showcase ongoing research within our Department! As a bonus, they tested several specimens of cross-laminated-timber, engineered bamboo composites, and tropical hardwood for our audiences! The team’s presentations fostered a number of discussions with the alumni, with many wanting to stay longer to discuss mass timber construction further. Thank you for making this event a success! #uwaterloo #engineering #uwaterlooalumni #masstimber

Looking for solutions to deflection and vibration concerns for floors in your open floor plan buildings? 🏗️ In the recent issue of Canadian Society for Civil Engineering / La Société canadienne de génie civil's CIVIL magazine Tyler Hull and Daniel Lacroix discuss a solution to this problem in the form of Mass Timber Composite (MTC) panels. By compositely connecting the CLT panels and glulam beams, MTC panels have increased capacity and stiffness. Discussed in the article are implications for designers to consider and the current research our team is conducting at the University of Waterloo. This work comes from a collaboration with Element5 and their hollow core BOXX panels, which are floor and roof cassettes that offer a material efficient way to achieve long clear spans in multi-storey buildings. If you are looking to use these on your next project reach out to us and the team at Element5 for help with your design. 📞 See the full publication here 📃https://lnkd.in/gSjARCNe #masstimber #structuralengineering #research #sustainability #engineering #CLT

Wondering more about how mass timber composite panels behave and their design? 📈🤔 We've been busy in the Main Structures Lab lately testing different configurations of 4.5m long mass timber composite panels in flexure. The test program includes: ➡ Stress testing of each member to determine its bending stiffness ➡ Screw-glued fabrication of the CLT-glulam T-beam configurations ➡ Service level testing to investigate the effective flange width behaviour in the CLT flange ➡ Four-point bending testing to failure (up to 240kNm) A few observations as we move through the testing: 🔨 Constructability - screw-gluing was a easy to fabricate and practical method for achieving strong and stiff glued bonds. 📊 Preliminary Results - the effective flange width behaved differently in CLT than other design methods due to the orthogonal layers and anisotropic behaviour of wood. 📐 Design - with adequate knowledge of the effective flange width and shear connection properties, simplified design methods can be used to confidently predict the behaviour in design. 📢 We will be continuing our flexural testing to failure between April 25th and May 3rd. If you are someone interested in the work and would like to connect and observe a test at the University of Waterloo reach out here, or to Tyler Hull or Daniel Lacroix. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This testing program is a collaborative effort between START - Structural Timber and Applied Research Team and Element5, funded by Mitacs through an Accelerate project. Acknowledgements to Tyler Hull, Daniel Lacroix, Kevin Rocchi, Brock O'Donnell, François-Laurent Chabot, Cory Zurell, and Rothoblaas for their contributions to the project. Follow our group to keep up with all the fabrication, testing, publication and mass timber related news from START and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering - University of Waterloo ! 🌲 🛠 #CLT #MassTimber #MassTimberComposite #research #UWaterloo #sustainability #innovation #glulam #structuralengineering #timberconstruction

Exciting things happening in Ontario and BC! Mass timber buildings up to 18 storeys will be added to the building code following a multi-province joint task force analysis and feedback 🌲 🏗 https://lnkd.in/esUkZSNj