Experimentally validated bending capacity models for strip-reinforced timber beams
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The use of timber in construction has seen a rapid increase in demand in recent years. However, some question the capacity of the industry to supply sufficient amounts of structural grade timber in a sustainable and affordable manner as the demand will increase further. As such, the motivation for using all the available timber and increasing the efficiency of the timber is high. Currently, a large fraction of the available timber is used for non-structural purposes because of their unknown or unfavourable mechanical properties, or because of alternative use. To utilise more of the available timber for structural purposes and to increase the material efficiency, flexurally reinforced timber beams are attractive options. In this study, analytical bending capacity models for reinforced timber beams were derived. The bending capacity models were experimentally validated on full-size reinforced glued laminated timber beams with carbon-fiber reinforced polymer sheets. The experimental results showed an increase in the flexural rigidity of up to 65% and a strength increase of 74% when compared with unreinforced beams under pure bending. Moreover, a 44% reduction in the timber volume and three times higher global warming potential was demonstrated for reinforced timber beams when compared with unreinforced timber beams.
Authors: Alex Sixie Cao, René Steiger, Andrea Frangi
Language: English
Subfield: Building and Construction
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funders: National Science Foundation, European Cooperation in Science and Technology, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Vetenskapsrådet, Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology
OpenAlex ID: W4412413711