Development of innovative precast concrete node for wood construction

Rapid of urban population and limited raw material and energy resources increase the demand for more sustainable structures. An initiative was taken by many governments, including Canada, to introduce more timber structures to the public buildings. This initiative can save a considerable amount of energy required to produce common construction materials such as concrete and structural steel. Connections between the different timber members (e.g., beams and columns) are critical parts of the timber structure. Although recently developed steel connections proved their structural efficiency and ease of assembly, they lack fire resistance are not rigid enough for all uses. To address this issue, Fast + Epp engineering firm introduced the concept of precast concrete nodal joints instead of conventional steel ones. This type of connection is expected to provide adequate fire resistance and to provide some rigidity and deformation capacity. However, before such connections can be used in industry the structural behaviour needs to be extensively studied using experimental and numerical investigations. For this purpose, an intern from UBC will collaborate with Fast + Epp to perform the required experimental and numerical studies to verify the proposed concrete nodes’ adequacy and introduce detailed design provisions for such connections.

Faculty Supervisor:

Lisa Tobber

Student:

Partner:

Fast + Epp Structural Engineers Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Construction and infrastructure; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

The University of British Columbia - Okanagan

Program: