Behaviour of traditional Portuguese timber roof structures

The aim of this paper is to present the results of a structural analysis of common trusses traditionally used in roof construction in Portugal. The study includes the results of a preliminary survey intending to assess the geometry, materials and on site pathologies, as well as a twodimensional linear elastic static and dynamic analysis. The trusses behaviour under symmetric and non-symmetric loads, the king post/tie-beam connection, the stiffness of the joints and the incorrect positioning of the purlins, were some of the structural aspects that have been investigated

Dynamic serviceability design of attic room floors in modern timber frame houses

In this paper, the vibrational performance of roof trusses for constructing the attic room floors with various geometric configurations was investigated using commercial finite element software – SAP2000. Vibrational parameters included the mid-span deflections of the bottom chord under dead loads and unit point load, and modal frequencies up to 40 Hz and modal shapes. This study confirmed that increasing the bottom chord size and including composite bottom chord and fully composite roof truss members could largely enhance the dynamic serviceability performance of the attic room floors in timber frame houses

Timber roof structure for outdoor auditorium in Parque Paraiso, San Blas (Madrid)

p. 468-475A timber shell structure is designed to provide covering for an outdoor auditorium in Madrid (Spain). The covering comprises five independent overlapped marquees with similar shape but diverse dimensions. The surface geometry of each marquee is defined by a hyperbolic paraboloid, with its boundaries delimited by elliptical curves in horizontal projection. Structural section for the timber shell is a composite section with several staggered layers of straight sawn timber planks, arranged in two orthogonal directions following the straight skew lines of the hyperbolic paraboloid. Over them two continuous top layers are arranged which provides bracing for the structure and support for the waterproofing material. Each layer is laid over the previous one, bolted and glued with polyurethane adhesive. Special characteristics of the design analysis and detailed erection process are described. The designed solution provides lightweight roofing with a powerful and original image, short construction time and reasonable budget.Anton, A.; Meijide, AG.; Corbal, JJ. (2009). Timber roof structure for outdoor auditorium in Parque Paraiso, San Blas (Madrid). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/653

Key dating features for timber-framed dwellings in Surrey

This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright @ The Vernacular Architecture Group 2013. MORE OpenChoice articles are open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0.The main component of the Surrey Dendrochronology Project is the accurate dating of 177 ‘dwellings’, nearly all by tree-ring analysis. The dates are used to establish date ranges for 52 ‘key features’, which cover many aspects of timber-framing from building type to details of carpentry. It is shown that changes of method and fashion were in many cases surprisingly rapid, almost abrupt in historical terms. Previous dating criteria for timber-framed dwellings in the county have been refined and new criteria introduced. Clusters of change from the 1440s and the 1540s are shown and some possible historical links suggested.The Heritage Lottery Fund, the Domestic Buildings Research Group (Surrey), the Surrey Archaeological Society and the historical societies of Charlwood, Farnham and Nutfield

Structural vulnerability of Nepalese Pagoda temples

Nepal is located in one of the most severe earthquake prone areas of the world, lying between collisions of Indian to the Eurasian plate, moving continuously, resulting in frequent devastating earthquakes within this region. Moreover, different authors refer mention that the accumulated slip deficit (central seismic gap) is likely to produce large earthquakes in the future. Also, the analysis of the available information of previous earthquakes indicates the potential damage that can occurs in unreinforced traditional masonry structures in future earthquakes. Most of the Nepalese pagoda temples were erected following very simple rules and construction details to accomplish with seismic resistance requirement, or even without any consideration for seismic resistance, during the period of Malla dynasty (1200-1768). Presently, conservation and restoration of ancient monuments are one of the major concerns in order to preserve our built heritage, transferring it to the future generations. The present paper is devoted to outline particular structural fragility characteristics in the historic Nepalese pagoda temples which affect their seismic performance. Moreover, based on the parametric analysis identified structural weaknesses/fragilities of pagoda topology, the associated traditional building technology and constructional details

Developing Future UK Energy Performance Standards: The St Nicholas Court project, Final Report

The St Nicholas Court Project was set up to explore the implications of an enhanced energy performance standard for new housing for the design, construction and performance of timber framed dwellings. The energy performance standard, EPS08, is modelled on proposals made by the DETR in June 2000 for a possible review of Part L of the Building Regulations in the second half of the present decade. The overall goal of the project was to support the next revision of Part L through an enhanced body of qualitative and quantitative evidence on options and impacts. The seeds of the project were contained in a report – Towards Sustainable Housing - commissioned by Joseph Rowntree Foundation at the start of the last review of this part of the Building Regulations. The project itself has been based on the St Nicholas Court Development which involves the design and construction of a group of 18 low energy and affordable dwellings on a brown field site in York (see site plan below). The research project was established in two stages. Initial funding was provided by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in the spring of 1999. This ensured the involvement of the research team from the outset of the development process. Additional funding was provided from late 2000 by the Housing Corporation and by the DETR through the Partners in Innovation programme (responsibility for which now lies with the DTI). The research project was originally divided into five phases – project definition, design, construction, occupation, and communication and dissemination. Delays in site acquisition initially allowed the design phase to be extended, but ultimately forced the abandonment of the construction and occupation phases, and the scaling down of the communication and dissemination phase. Despite the delays, the development itself will now go ahead, with construction starting in mid-2003

Newton Hall and the cruck buildings of North West England

This study is an introduction to the archaeology and history of Newton Hall, Hyde, in Tameside. As a timber-framed cruck building from the late medieval period it is one of the oldest homes in North West England, and was one of the first such buildings to be restored for future generations in the 1960s. This study looks at Newton Hall and its place within the cruck-framed building tradition of the region, providing an overview of the development of the site and its regional importance. 95 cruck buildings are analysed within the Manchester city region, including their status, plan-form and construction details, and the study is illustrated with 122 colour plates and line drawings

Condensation Risk – Impact of Improvements to Part L and Robust Details on Part C -Interim report number 7: Final report on project fieldwork

This report sets out, in draft1, the results of the fieldwork phase of research into the impacts of the 2002 revisions to Part L of the building regulations (Approved Document L1 - DTLR, 2001), and the adoption of Robust Details (RDs - DEFRA 2001) on the extent of condensation risk in the construction of dwellings (Oreszczyn and Bell, 2003). The objective of the fieldwork was to explore the practical application of the revised Part L and its associated robust details by housing developers. This was done through a qualitative evaluation of the design and construction of 16 housing schemes designed in accordance with the revised part L and making use of robust details2. The results of the analysis are to be used to enable condensation modelling that takes into account not only the guidance of robust details but also the way in which construction details were actually designed and, perhaps more importantly, constructed. To this end the report identifies 7 areas of construction detailing (yielding some 15 separate detail models) that are to be included in the condensation modelling phase of the project