Determination of Strength Characteristics of Construction Timber Strengthened with Carbon and Glass Fibre Composite Using a Destructive Method
Beams strengthened with a composite material consisting of carbon and glass fibre stabilised with two types of adhesives were evaluated. The primary objective was to determine the technical attributes of joints, the maximum bending strength capacity, deflection, and modulus of elasticity. The reinforcement fibres tested were based on carbon and glass fibre. Epoxy and polyurethane adhesives were used for stabilising the fibres on a spruce timber beam. Composite beams glued in both a prestressed and non-prestressed condition were tested and then compared with non-reinforced control beams. A four-point deflection pursuant to EN 408 (1995) was used in the determination of the strength of the load-bearing construction beams based on composites, consisting of a fibre type, adhesive type, and spruce timber. This approach was applied to define the size of the construction beams and process the measurement results. Reinforcing construction beams with fibres applied in a prestressed condition resulted in an increase in the bending strength capacity by 31.6 to 44.4% compared with a non-reinforced solid timber construction beam. These construction elements, strengthened with carbon and glass fibre composites glued with epoxy and polyurethane adhesives, are suitable for applications that require bending resistance perpendiculary to the glued joint direction.
Investigation of 3D-Moldability of Flax Fiber Reinforced Beech Plywood
The current work deals with three dimensionally molded plywood formed parts. These are prepared in two different geometries using cut-outs and relief cuts in the areas of the highest deformation. Moreover, the effect of flax fiber reinforcement on the occurrence and position of cracks, delamination, maximum load capacity, and on the modulus of elasticity is studied. The results show that designs with cut-outs are to be preferred when molding complex geometries and that flax fiber reinforcement is a promising way of increasing load capacity and stiffness of plywood formed parts by respectively 76 and 38% on average.
Longitudinal Glued Laminated Timber Bridge Modeling
An analytical model developed to analyze a glued laminated longitudinal-deck highway bridge is described. The model employs a general purpose finite element program SAP IV. Data from the study were used in the development of design criteria. Experimental data were obtained by testing a full-scale bridge in the laboratory, and they were used to validate the analytical model. The study found that the analytical model developed accurately predicts the behavior of the bridge. The experimental results support the conservatism of the analytical model. The analytical and experimental data indicate that the thru-bolt type of connector allows better distribution of loads within the bridge system than does the aluminum bracket connector