In Australia, and internationally, there is currently a renaissance occurring in the use of timber mid-rise construction. The collective understanding of the structural design process is increasing every year, and engineers are continuing to push the boundaries. The structural design process for mid-rise timber-buildings is quickly evolving, with an increased focus on off-site manufacturing and building performance critical for the structural engineer.
This WoodSolutions Seminar focused on the key design considerations for the structural engineer - from concept to construction, as well as formally launching an exciting new timber engineering preliminary design software, TimberTech.
An introduction to the seminar, the Timber Tech consortium, an overview of WoodSolutions resources and an invitation to contact the Mid-rise Advisory Team.
Mid-rise timber buildings typically utilize a wide range of off-site prefabricated systems and have fire and acoustic performance requirements that effect the structure – thus requiring a multi-disciplinary understanding and varied structural design process. Alastair discusses the overall process, including performance requirements and the preliminary design procedure for the structural engineer.
Paolo introduces and Adam demonstrates the Australian version of the new TimberTech software, which has the capability to perform both analysis and design of massive and lightweight timber systems. The software has been developed through a 12-month collaborative project harmonizing Eurocode with the Australian standards – it can quickly define the structure, provide sizing of the walls and floors, design the connections, produce calculation reports and print a preliminary bill of quantities.
A range of for timber floor systems options exist for mid-rise timber construction, Stephen discusses the different approaches available exploring, the preliminary and detailed design process, including the NCC performance requirements, typical span-to-depth ratios, floor optimisation methods, computer modelling and design documentation requirements.
The Phoenix building in Sydney comprise timber-framed shear walls and a central CLT core. Kevin discusses the technical design of the stability system, including the stiffness of timber-framed elements, achieving composite action of the CLT core, lateral load distribution and the key connections.
Design of Massive-timber Stability Elements – Toby Hodson, Arup
Stability is also a key consideration for massive timber building and in this presentation Toby will discusses the stiffness of CLT walls and floors, composite action for CLT cores, design considerations for transfer structures, 3D modelling and the optimisation of overall stability systems.
Appropriate connection design is critical in ensuring mid-rise timber buildings act as they are designed. Giovanni will discusses the major considerations with massive timber buildings in the connecting of diaphragms, shear walls and transfer structures.
With timber buildings utilising off-site prefabricated elements, the engineer’s role needs to include ensuring that the design is efficient to manufacture and build. Nick shares his broad and rich experience in this area discussing what is DfMA, how to optimize for cost effectiveness, and how to document a mass timber building, illustrating this with recent case studies.