This book brings together up to date information from research and practice about the interaction between moisture changes and mechanical loading, which may lead to excessive deflections or joint movements in timber structures. It has important applications in timber engineering, and consequences for national and international structural codes of practice.

So far in the twenty-first century, there have been many developments in our understanding of materials’ behaviour and in their technology and use. This new edition has been expanded to cover recent developments such as the use of glass as a structural material. It also now examines the contribution that material selection makes to sustainable construction practice, considering the availability of raw materials, production, recycling and reuse, which all contribute to the life cycle assessment of structures. As well as being brought up-to-date with current usage and performance standards, each section now also contains an extra chapter on recycling. Covers the following materials: metals concrete ceramics (including bricks and masonry) polymers fibre composites bituminous materials timber glass. This new edition maintains our familiar and accessible format, starting with fundamental principles and continuing with a section on each of the major groups of materials. It gives you a clear and comprehensive perspective on the whole range of materials used in modern construction. A must have for Civil and Structural engineering students, and for students of architecture, surveying or construction on courses which require an understanding of materials.

The use of novel materials and new structural concepts nowadays is not restricted to highly technical areas like aerospace, aeronautical applications or the automotive industry, but affects all engineering fields including those such as civil engineering and architecture. Addressing issues involving advanced types of structures, particularly those based on new concepts or new materials and their system design, contributions highlight the latest developments in design, optimisation, manufacturing and experimentation. Also included are contributions on new software, numerical methods and different optimisation techniques. Optimisation problems of interest involve those related to size, shape and topology of structures and materials. Most high performance structures require the development of a generation of new materials, which can more easily resist a range of external stimuli or react in a non-conventional manner. Particular emphasis is placed on intelligent structures and materials as well as the application of computational methods for their modelling, control and management. Optimisation techniques have much to offer to those involved in the design of new industrial products. The formulation of optimum design has evolved from the time it was purely an academic topic, able now to satisfy the requirements of real life prototypes. The development of new algorithms and the appearance of powerful commercial computer codes, with easy to use graphical interfaces, have created a fertile field for the incorporation of optimisation in the design process in all engineering disciplines. This proceedings volume is the first from a new edition of the High Performance Design of Structures and Materials and the Optimum Design of Structures conferences, which follows the success of a number of meetings that originated in 1989. Topics covered include: Composite materials & structures; Material characterisation; Experiments and numerical analysis; Steel structures; High performance concretes; Natural fibre composites; Transformable structures; Lightweight structures; Timber structures; Environmentally friendly and sustainable structures; Emerging structural applications; Optimisation in civil engineering; Evolutionary methods in optimisation; Shape and topology optimisation; Aerospace structures; Structural optimisation; Biomechanics application; Material optimisation; Life cost optimisation; Intelligence structures and smart materials.

Timber: Its Nature and Behaviour adopts a materials science approach to timber and comprehensively examines the relationship between the performance of timber and its structure. This book explains a wide range of timbers physical and mechanical behaviour (including processing) in terms of its basic structure and its complex interaction with moisture. The performance of timber and panel products is also related to the levels set in new European specifications and with the associated methods of testing.

Thoroughly revised and updated, the third edition of this popular textbook continues to provide a comprehensive coverage of the main construction materials for undergraduate students of civil engineering and construction related courses. It creates an understanding of materials and how they perform through a knowledge of their chemical and physical

This book contains the contributions from the RILEM International Symposium on Materials and Joints in Timber Structures that was held in Stuttgart, Germany from October 8 to 10, 2013. It covers recent developments in the materials and the joints used in modern timber structures. Regarding basic wooden materials, the contributions highlight the widened spectrum of products comprising cross-laminated timber, glulam and LVL from hardwoods and block glued elements. Timber concrete compounds, cement bonded wood composites and innovative light-weight constructions represent increasingly employed alternatives for floors, bridges and facades. With regard to jointing technologies, considerable advances in both mechanical connections and glued joints are presented. Self-tapping screws have created unprecedented options for reliable, strong as well as ductile joints and reinforcement technologies. Regarding adhesives, which constitute the basis of the jointing/laminating technology of modern timber products, extended options for tailor-made bonding solutions have to be stated. Apart from melamine-urea and phenolic-resorcinol adhesives, one-component-polyurethanes, emulsion isocyanate polymers and epoxies offer a wide range of possibilities. The contributions dealing with experimental and numerical investigations on static, cyclic and seismic behavior of structures clearly reveal the enhanced potential of modern timber construction for reliable and sustainable buildings and bridges of the new millennium. The book is structured in nine thematic areas, being I) Structures II) Mechanical Connections III) Glued Joints and Adhesives IV) Timber and Concrete/Cement/Polymer Composites V) Cyclic, Seismic Behavior VI) Hardwood, Modified Wood and Bamboo VII) Cross-Laminated Timber VIII) Properties and Testing of Wood IX) Glulam

This established textbook provides an understanding of materials’ behaviour through knowledge of their chemical and physical structure. It covers the main classes of construction materials: metals, concrete, other ceramics (including bricks and masonry), polymers, fibre composites, bituminous materials, timber, and glass. It provides a clear and comprehensive perspective on the whole range of materials used in modern construction, to form a must-have for civil and structural engineering students, and those on courses such as architecture, surveying and construction. It begins with a Fundamentals section followed by a section on each of the major groups of materials. In this new edition: - The section on fibre composites FRP and FRC has been completely restructured and updated. - Typical questions with answers to any numerical examples are given at the end of each section, as well as an instructor’s manual with further questions and answers. - The links in all parts have also been updated and extended, including links to free reports from The Concrete Centre, as well as other online resources and material suppliers’ websites. - and now with solutions manual and resources for adopting instructors on https://www.crcpress.com/9781498741101

Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions contains about 160 papers that were presented at the IV International Seminar on Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions that was held from 10 to 13 November, 2004 in Padova Italy. Following publications of previous seminars that were organized in Barcelona, Spain (1995 and 1998) and Guimarães, Portugal (2001), state-of-the-art information is presented in these two volumes on the preservation, protection, and restoration of historical constructions, both comprising monumental structures and complete city centers. These two proceedings volumes are devoted to the possibilities of numerical and experimental techniques in the maintenance of historical structures. In this respect, the papers, originating from over 30 countries, are subdivided in the following areas: Historical aspects and general methodology, Materials and laboratory testing, Non-destructive testing and inspection techniques, Dynamic behavior and structural monitoring, Analytical and numerical approaches, Consolidation and strengthening techniques, Historical timber and metal structures, Seismic analysis and vulnerability assessment, Seismic strengthening and innovative systems, Case studies. Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions is a valuable source of information for scientists and practitioners working on structure-related issues of historical constructions

Timber construction is one of the most prevalent methods of constructing buildings in North America and an increasingly significant method of construction in Europe and the rest of the world. Timber Engineering deals not only with the structural aspects of timber construction, structural components, joints and systems based on solid timber and engineered wood products, but also material behaviour and properties on a wood element level. Produced by internationally renowned experts in the field, this book represents the state of the art in research on the understanding of the material behaviour of solid wood and engineered wood products. There is no comparable compendium currently available on the topic - the subjects represented include the most recent phenomena of timber engineering and the newest development of practice-related research. Grouped into three different sections, 'Basic properties of wood-based structural elements', 'Design aspects on timber structures' and 'Joints and structural assemblies', this book focuses on key issues in the understanding of: timber as a modern engineered construction material with controlled and documented properties the background for design of structural systems based on timber and engineered wood products the background for structural design of joints in structural timber systems Furthermore, this invaluable book contains advanced teaching material for all technical schools and universities involved in timber engineering. It also provides an essential resource for timber engineering students and researchers, as well as practicing structural and civil engineers.