THIN-WALLED TIMBER STRUCTURES

Abstract: Due to their efficiency, lightweight, ease of erection and low cost, steel and aluminium thin-walled structures have become very popular in the construc-tion industry over the past few decades. Applications include roof and wall sys-tems (purlins and girts), storage racks, and composite concrete and steel slabs. The effectiveness of these structures lies in the cross-sectional shape of the profiles which enhances their strength by controlling the three fundamental buckling modes: local, distortional, and global. However, despite the attractiveness of these structures, steel and aluminium are greenhouse gas intensive materials and do not produce sustainable structural products. This paper presents an investigation per