Development of a re-mountable timber car park

Abstract

This Master Thesis research is carried out to investigate the most efficient re-mountable timber car park in terms of feasibility and structural performance. Applying the re-mountability principle with a sustainable material like timber is important to help the construction industry tackle environmental problems like global warming. Specifically, re-mountability is important because it ensures a second use of the car park without applying environmentally affecting processes, like redesigning or repairing the gained elements, and without creating waste.
In summary, the research question is: What is the most suitable design for a timber re-mountable car park, including global structure and details based on structural performance and feasibility?
The first part of this research is determining the most suitable floor system. This is important because of the large floor span in a timber car park and the reduced stiffness of timber compared to concrete and steel. Information is gathered by investigating car park and floor system references and the boundary conditions from regulations, material behaviour, transportation, etc. Next, a preliminary design is made for the four largest potential floor systems.
Based on this preliminary design combined with the earlier gained knowledge, the most suitable floor system is chosen in a multi-criteria analysis. A spruce CLT floor system of 140 mm thick combined with 360 mm x 1040 mm glulam beams becomes the most suitable alternative. A Triflex coating is necessary on top to ensure sufficient moisture resistance and re-mountability of the floor system. The fire resistance does not affect the floor system design because the serviceability limit state is governing.
Then, the second part of this research uses the known floor system to design the re-mountable connections in a final design phase. Using the knowledge gained from the references and boundary conditions, a bolted connection is the most suitable re-mountable connection type. However, a console is most suitable for the column-to-beam connection due to the positive effect on the necessary crane operation time.