Structural behaviour of folded timber sandwich structures

Curved Folded Plate Timber Structures

Current research at the laboratory for timber construction IBOIS at EPFL focuses on shell structures. Two main families are investigated: shells made of linear elements, as timber rib shells, and shells made of surface elements, typically folded plate structures. With regard to timber rib shells, bent linear timber elements are used to create the shape of a shell. With folded plate structures, ...

Rotational Stiffness at Ridges of Timber Folded-plate Structures

Folded-plate structures provide an efficient design using thin laminated veneer lumber panels. Inspired by Japanese furniture joinery, the multiple tab-and-slot joint was developed for the multi-assembly of timber panels with non-parallel edges without adhesive or metal joints. Because the global analysis of our origami structures reveals that the rotational stiffness at ridges affects the glob...

Structural behaviour of composite sandwich panels

Numerical Modelling of Timber Braced Frame Masonry Structures (Dhajji Dewari)

This paper presents numerical modeling technique for Dhajji-Dewari structures (timber-braced rubble stone masonry), and its application for the evaluation of in-plane force-deformation capacity of Dhajji wall panels of different configuration of bracings. Dhajji structures are mainly composed of vertical and horizontal timber posts and braced using diagonal bracings and horizontal studs. Wall o...

Fabrication and structural performance of periodic cellular metal sandwich structures

Metallic sandwich panels with periodic, open-cell cores are important new structures, enabled by novel fabrication and topology design tools. Fabrication protocols based on the sheet forming of trusses and shell elements (egg-boxes) as well as textile assembly have allowed the manufacture of robust structures by inexpensive routes. Topology optimization enables control of failure mechanisms at ...