Glued laminated timber beam reinforced with composite strips

Abstract. Modern trends in the development of the construction industry demand increased attention to environmental aspects. This leads to the growing popularity of materials that are environmentally friendly and have minimal negative impact on the environment. At the same time, such materials must possess high strength and resistance to external influences and loads. In this context, timber structures are gaining widespread use. They are made from renewable natural resources and are characterized by relatively high strength and low weight, which qualifies them as sustainable building materials. Despite certain disadvantages of wood, such as shrinkage, decay, and anisotropic physical and mechanical properties, these drawbacks can be almost completely eliminated in glued laminated timber structures. In particular, glued laminated timber beams are key elements in many structures and are widely used in construction. Therefore, the issue of increasing their stiffness and strength through reinforcement with composite materials is especially relevant. This paper proposes a reinforcement technology, a methodology for determining the stress–strain state, and a calculation method for glued laminated timber beams reinforced with composite strips. The results of deformation parameters of the experimental model are presented, including actual flexural modules of elasticity, maximum longitudinal stresses at mid-span, at the load application axis, and at the support axis. The actual maximum load-bearing capacity of the experimental model reinforced with composite strips is determined and compared with numerical studies conducted in a modern software package.