Experimentally validated bending capacity models for strip-reinforced timber beams

The use of timber in construction has seen a rapid increase in demand in recent years. However, some question the capacity of the industry to supply sufficient amounts of structural grade timber in a sustainable and affordable manner as the demand will increase further. As such, the motivation for using all the available timber and increasing the efficiency of the timber is high. Currently, a large fraction of the available timber is used for non-structural purposes because of their unknown or unfavourable mechanical properties, or because of alternative use. To utilise more of the available timber for structural purposes and to increase the material efficiency, flexurally reinforced timber beams are attractive options. In this study, analytical bending capacity models for reinforced timber beams were derived. The bending capacity models were experimentally validated on full-size reinforced glued laminated timber beams with carbon-fiber reinforced polymer sheets. The experimental results showed an increase in the flexural rigidity of up to 65% and a strength increase of 74% when compared with unreinforced beams under pure bending. Moreover, a 44% reduction in the timber volume and three times higher global warming potential was demonstrated for reinforced timber beams when compared with unreinforced timber beams.

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”Experimentally validated bending capacity models for strip-reinforced timber beams”

July 14, 2025 - This study is published in Wood Material Science & Engineering. Authors Alex Sixie Cao and Andrea Frangi are associated to focus group WP-C Innovative Wood Construction.

Figure: Failure modes of Glulam experiments.