{"id":176,"date":"2014-08-26T09:40:44","date_gmt":"2014-08-26T09:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lpms.dicam.unitn.it\/?page_id=176"},"modified":"2014-10-02T14:48:07","modified_gmt":"2014-10-02T14:48:07","slug":"timber-structure-analysis","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lpms.dicam.unitn.it\/?page_id=176","title":{"rendered":"Timber Structure Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Timber Research group is active in the field of structural analysis of both modern timber structures and existing structures belonging to the cultural heritage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mission<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The use of timber as a construction material dates back to ancient history, with specific techniques differently developed within different regions. In the Mediterranean regions, specifically in Italy, timber was mainly used for roof and floor structures, whereas buildings assembled using only wood structure could be found only in the Alpine area.<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently new engineerized wood materials, mainly glued laminated timber beams (glulam or GLT) and cross laminated timber panels (Xlam or CLT), allow wood to be used for long-span structures (large roofs, pedestrian and road traffic bridges) and multi-storey buildings. Also the problem of refurbishment of old timber structures is now of strong importance in our country, seen an increasing sensitivity towards the preservation of the historical heritage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recently another interesting opportunity was launched for new residential buildings. The possibility of obtaining multi-storey buildings with a structural skeleton entirely made of timber has aroused, in Europe, the interest of designers and customers, for commercial, residential, school buildings and social housing, thanks to the healthy living features of the material and a new attention towards the problems of environmental sustainability. Also in Italy some interesting buildings were recently built (e.g. new 10-storeys residential buildings in Milano), and several timber 3-storey buildings in L’Aquila, in the post-earthquake reconstruction, have proved to be very effective thanks to the short construction time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many researches, performed on the Italian market of wood products, demonstrate that a significant increase in the volume of timber used in construction will take place in the next few years, maintaining the constant trend presented since 2000, important reasons being the reduction in cost and construction time as a result of the prefabrication process, and the reduced self-weight compared with masonry and concrete, which allows a significant decrease of seismic actions. Furthermore, new types of architectural designs can developed, which are not necessarily related to the classical and traditional architectural forms. This fast development has occurred together with the issue of the new Italian Standards for Constructions, and the introduction of timber as building material in the new Italian Building Code, since 2008.<\/span><\/p>\n

The group of research on timber engineering of DICAM, consequently, is strongly involved in many research activities but also in the education activity both in the Master Program of Civil Engineering and in the Doctoral School. There is also another field of interest, regarding the so-called life-long learning and the post-graduate courses offered in Italy in the field of timber engineering. This special educational activity is carried out thanks also to the support and the contribution of Industrial Associations for the promotion of wood construction in Italy and Austria (promo_legno and proHolz). Those actions are closely linked to another special activity, called \u201cpromo_legno risponde\u201d, which offers an on-line help to the designers in order to solve problems related to structure, building physics, technology, material and certification (http:\/\/www.promolegno.com\/risponde\/).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a key-point to be underlined: DICAM is the only University Department in Italy able to offer a deep competence on timber engineering. That circumstance gives obviously optimum chances for the Department, even if the lack of competence in some other Italian Universities must be considered a weak point for timber industry. Indeed the timber research group has a strong capacity of attraction of industrial research projects, only limited by the research staff dimension. Research activity is now focused on the main issues, still open, regarding the behaviour and design of residential and commercial multi-storey timber buildings and the analysis and conservation of existing structures, with a special attention to the seismic performance. Among the in progress or recently concluded researches, they can be cited the research Green Model House GMH, developed for ITEA (Istituto Trentino per l\u2019Edilizia Abitativa, TN) on the assessment and refurbishment of existing structures and, the research programs for the Italian Agency for Emergency Management (DPC) and for the ReLUIS consortium.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"timber4\"<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Research topics<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Many different research topics are considered at University of Trento, within the timber engineering world. Some of them are hereafter summarized:<\/span><\/p>\n