Serviceability Performance of Timber Concrete Composite Floors

Abstract

There is much potential for engineered wood products to be used beyond low-rise residential construction when incorporating the notion of hybrid systems like timber-concrete-composites (TCC). TCC systems are comprised of a timber element connected to a concrete slab through a shear connection. By combining the complimentary properties of timber and concrete, the performance of timber floors can be enhanced, including bending stiffness, load-bearing capacity, dynamic response, airborne sound transmission, structural fire rating, and thermal mass. A large number of T-beam TCC systems existed for decades; however, the growing availability of panel-type products in North America offers designers greater versatility in terms of structural and building physics performance. While stiffness and strength design of TCC systems is straight-forward, there is little design guidance available in terms of vibration and long-term performance. The bending, vibration and long-term performance for a range of TCC systems in several EWPs were validated on small-scale shear tests, floor panels subjected to serviceability loads for 2.5 years, and subsequent full-size bending tests. The tests confirmed that calculations according to the ?-method can predict the basic stiffness and dynamic properties of TCC floors within a reasonable degree of accuracy.