Sustainable Cross-Laminated Timber Structures in a Seismic Area: Overview and Future Trends

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) buildings are recognized as a robust alternative to heavyweight constructions, because beneficial for seismic resistance and environmental sustainability, more than other construction materials. The lightness of material and the satisfactory dissipative response of the mechanical connections provide an excellent seismic response to multi-story CLT buildings, in spite of permanent damage to timber panels in the connection zones. Basically, CLT constructions are highly sustainable structures from extraction of raw material, to manufacturing process, up to usage, disposal and recycling. With respect to other constructions, the potential of CLT buildings is that their environmental sustainability in the phases of disposal and/or recycling can be further enhanced if the seismic damage in structural timber components is reduced or nullified. This paper reports a state-of-the art overview on seismic performance and sustainability aspects of CLT buildings in seismic prone regions. Technological issues and modelling approaches for traditional CLT buildings currently proposed in literature are discussed, focusing the attention on some research advancements and future trends devoted to enhance seismic performance and environmental sustainability of CLT buildings in seismic prone regions.

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Application of Microextraction-Based Techniques for Screening-Controlled Drugs in Forensic Context—A Review

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26082168 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (8) ◽

pp. 2168

Author(s):

Samir M. Ahmad ◽

Oriana C. Gonçalves ◽

Mariana N. Oliveira ◽

Nuno R. Neng ◽

José M. F. Nogueira

Keyword(s):

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Illicit Drugs ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

Future Trends ◽

Present Contribution ◽

Controlled Drugs ◽

Related Compounds ◽

Innovative Techniques ◽

Great Simplicity

The analysis of controlled drugs in forensic matrices, i.e., urine, blood, plasma, saliva, and hair, is one of the current hot topics in the clinical and toxicological context. The use of microextraction-based approaches has gained considerable notoriety, mainly due to the great simplicity, cost-benefit, and environmental sustainability. For this reason, the application of these innovative techniques has become more relevant than ever in programs for monitoring priority substances such as the main illicit drugs, e.g., opioids, stimulants, cannabinoids, hallucinogens, dissociative drugs, and related compounds. The present contribution aims to make a comprehensive review on the state-of-the art advantages and future trends on the application of microextraction-based techniques for screening-controlled drugs in the forensic context.

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PULL-OUT RESISTANCE OF SELF-TAPPING SCREWS IN CROSS-LAMINATED TIMBER MADE FROM RADIATA PINE

Proceedings of International Structural Engineering and Construction ◽

10.14455/isec.2020.7(2).mat-11 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Xin Li ◽

Mahmud Ashraf ◽

Mahbube Subhani ◽

Paul Kremer

Keyword(s):

Failure Modes ◽

Construction Materials ◽

Structural Response ◽

Radiata Pine ◽

Raw Material ◽

Fibrous Materials ◽

Cross Laminated Timber ◽

Pull Out ◽

Traditional Construction ◽

Penetration Depths

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is now considered a viable alternative to traditional construction materials both in mid-rise and high-rise structures. The structural response of CLT heavily relies on the type of timber used in manufacturing, and this can vary significantly based on the original source for this naturally grown raw material. Spruce has been widely used in Europe for CLT production, but in Australia, locally available radiata pine is used by XLam for the manufacturing of their CLT panels. Self-tapping screws (STS) are typically recommended by CLT manufacturers and are most commonly used in relevant construction due to their high load carrying capacities and easy installation process. VGS STSs produced by Rothoblaas were used to investigate their composite actions when pulled-out from three-layer XLam CLT panels with thicknesses of 105 mm and 135 mm. VGS screws with 11 mm in diameter were inserted both parallel-to-grain and perpendicular-to-grain on the narrow face of the CLT panels as part of the current study. Typical failure modes as well as critical penetration depths were carefully recorded. Obtained results showed significant increase of pull-out capacity as penetration depths were increased for considered cases. However, experimental results also showed some obvious inconsistencies. These observations clearly demonstrate the challenges associated with working naturally grown fibrous materials and highlights the importance of major research on this field.

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Overview of a Project to Quantify Seismic Performance Factors for Cross Laminated Timber Structures in the United States

Materials and Joints in Timber Structures ◽

10.1007/978-94-007-7811-5_49 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 531-541 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

M. Omar Amini ◽

John W. van de Lindt ◽

Shiling Pei ◽

Douglas Rammer ◽

Phil Line ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Seismic Performance ◽

The United States ◽

Timber Structures ◽

Cross Laminated Timber ◽

Performance Factors

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Evaluation of the Environmental Sustainability of Hemp as a Building Material, through Life Cycle Assessment

Environmental and Climate Technologies ◽

10.2478/rtuect-2021-0092 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 1215-1228

Author(s):

Salvatore Emanuele Di Capua ◽

Luisa Paolotti ◽

Elisa Moretti ◽

Lucia Rocchi ◽

Antonio Boggia

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Building Material ◽

Construction Materials ◽

Embodied Energy ◽

Raw Material ◽

Ecological Design ◽

Sustainable Procurement

Abstract Environmental issues, especially those related to the over-exploitation of natural resources, are leading towards considering alternative solutions and new approaches, such as the circular economy. Currently, some key elements of the circular economy approach are sustainable procurement of raw materials, improvement of production processes and ecological design, adoption of more sustainable distribution and consumption models, development of secondary raw material markets. This work aims to analyse the use of hemp as a building material, replacing traditional construction materials, but respecting at the same time the thermal, insulating and acoustic characteristics required in the construction of a building. The methodology used was Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which considered the hemp cultivation phase and the production phase of hemp-lime (“hempcrete”) walls. The hempcrete product was compared with two different solutions: a hemp and lime block, and a traditional perforated brick block with external insulation in polystyrene. In particular, the differences among the products in terms of embodied energy and net CO2 emissions were analysed. Results showed that the hempcrete wall had better environmental performances than the other two solutions.

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Seismic behaviour of Cross-Laminated Timber structures: A state-of-the-art review

Engineering Structures ◽

10.1016/j.engstruct.2018.05.060 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 170 ◽

pp. 42-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Matteo Izzi ◽

Daniele Casagrande ◽

Stefano Bezzi ◽

Dag Pasca ◽

Maurizio Follesa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

State Of The Art ◽

Timber Structures ◽

Seismic Behaviour ◽

Cross Laminated Timber

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Steel framed structures with cross laminated timber infill shear walls and semi-rigid connections

International Journal of Engineering & Technology ◽

10.14419/ijet.v8i4.29742 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 433

Author(s):

Tzanetis Vogiatzis ◽

Themistoklis Tsalkatidis ◽

Aris Avdelas

Keyword(s):

Three Dimensional ◽

Construction Materials ◽

Shear Walls ◽

Element Model ◽

Load Resistance ◽

General Purpose ◽

Timber Structures ◽

Promising Alternative ◽

Framed Structures ◽

Cross Laminated Timber

In recent years, hybrid steel-timber structures are seeing an increasing use in modern building construction at a competitive price. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a prefabricated multi-layer engineered panel wood product, manufactured by gluing layers of solid-sawn lumber at perpendicular angles. Their orientation results in excellent structural rigidity in both orthogonal directions. CLT construction materials are used not only for flooring systems and roof assemblies, but CLT infill shear walls are also gaining a lot of interest as a promising alternative for sustainable primary lateral load resistance systems. This paper extends the current research background on hybrid steel-timber structures. To achieve that, this work is conducted in such way as to explore the potentiality of incorporating CLT infill shear walls within steel framed structures with semi-rigid connections (STSW). In particular, a three-dimensional finite element model using the general-purpose finite ele-ment program ANSYS is generated herein to study the mechanical behaviour of a single-bay, two storey STSW system with semi-rigid connections. Analytical results show that the presence of CLT infill shear walls can significantly improve the performance of moment-resisting frame systems, for multi-storey buildings. Moreover, it is observed from the extended parametrical study that the STSW systems show better performance when an appropriate plastic moment ratio index is defined.

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