Mechanical Response of Composite Wood–Concrete Bonded Facade Under Thermal Loading
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The integration of wood and concrete in building structures is a well-established practice typically realized through mechanical connectors. However, the thermomechanical behavior of wood–concrete composite façades assembled via adhesive bonding remains underexplored. This study introduces a novel concept—the adhesive-bonded wood–concrete façade, termed “Hybrimur”—and evaluates the response of these façade panels under thermal gradients, with a focus on thermal bowing phenomena. Four full-scale façade prototypes (3 m high × 6 m wide), consisting of 7 cm thick concrete and 16 cm thick laminated timber (GL24h), were fabricated and tested both with and without insulation. Two reinforcement types were considered: fiberglass-reinforced concrete and welded mesh reinforcement. The study combines thermal analysis of temperature gradients at the adhesive interface with analytical and numerical methods to investigate thermal expansion effects. The experimental and numerical results revealed thermal strains concentrated at the wood–concrete interface without inducing panel failure. Thermal bowing (out-of-plane deflection) exhibited a nonlinear behavior influenced by the adhesive bond and the anisotropic nature of the wood. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for both interface behavior and wood anisotropy in the design of hybrid façades subjected to thermal loading. A tentative finite element model is proposed that utilizes isotropic wood with properties that limit the accuracy of the results obtained by the model.
Source: Buildings
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
OpenAlex ID: W4415146642