Course Details
Steel and Timber Structures 2
Academic Year 2026/27
BOA102-A course is part of 1 study plan
BPA-SIS Winter Semester 3rd year
Overview of the historical development, fields of application in building structures, and future development prospects of timber structures. Properties of timber and wood-based materials with regard to their use in building structures.
Materials used in timber structures and the use of steel in structural systems.
Fundamental principles of the design of timber and steel structures. Structural limit states. Principles for the design of members and components of timber and steel structures.
Design of member-type structural elements in timber structures. Differences between the design of timber and steel members.
Joints and connections in timber structures. Differences between the design of joints and connections in timber and steel structures.
Design of basic types of traditional carpentry joints and mechanical connections in timber structures.
Structural systems of buildings with load-bearing timber structures (timber-frame systems, post-and-beam systems, panel systems, log and timber-block construction): structural arrangement, basic construction details, and the use of steel in joints and connections.
Roof structures – flat and pitched roofs: roof types, structural arrangement, and basic construction details.
Structural systems of multi-storey panel and modular buildings: structural arrangement and basic construction details.
Column and arch structural systems in timber and steel.
Manufacture, erection, protection and maintenance of timber structures and timber–steel composite structures.
Defects, failures and rehabilitation of timber structures.
Credits
5 credits
Language of instruction
English
Semester
Course Guarantor
Institute
Forms and criteria of assessment
Entry Knowledge
Basic knowledge:
Mathematics; Structural Mechanics; Strength of Materials; Loading of Structures; Design of Structures.
Aims
Professional Knowledge
- The student will gain an overview of the materials used in load-bearing timber structures and their properties; learn the fundamental principles and methods for the design and verification of selected basic types of load-bearing timber structures, including structural members, connections and construction details; and gain an overview of the structural systems and arrangements of the basic types of load-bearing timber structures used in buildings and roof structures.
Professional Skills
- The student is able to independently design and verify basic types of connections in timber structures. The student is able to design and verify load-bearing timber members subjected to basic types of loading and, where applicable, their combinations. The student is also able to independently design and verify structural members with due consideration of possible stability failure, including buckling and lateral-torsional buckling.
Competences
- The student is able to independently solve basic timber-structure design tasks for buildings, particularly the design and verification of structural members with solid cross-sections and their characteristic construction details.
Basic Literature
Kermani, A.; Porteous, J: Structural Timber Design to Eurocode 5. Wiley and Sons 2013 ISBN 978-0-470-67500-7 (en)
Design of timber structures – Volume 1: Structural aspects of timber construction, Stockholm: Swedish Forest Industries Federation, 2022. ISBN 978-91-985212-5-2. (en)
Farzad Hejazi, Steel structures design based on Eurocode 3, Singapore: Springer 2018, ISBN 978-981-10-8835-3 (en)
Recommended Reading
EN 1993-1-1 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures – Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization (CEN) (en)
Design of timber structures – Volume 2: Rules and formulas according to Eurocode 5. Stockholm: Swedish Forest Industries Federation, 2022. ISBN 978-91-985212-6-9 (en)
Design of timber structures – Volume 3: Examples. Stockholm: Swedish Forest Industries Federation, 2022. ISBN 978-91-985212-7-6 (en)
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge:
Mathematics; Structural Mechanics; Strength of Materials; Loading of Structures; Design of Structures.
Offered to foreign students
Course on BUT site
Lecture
13 weeks, 2 hours/week, elective
Syllabus
- Overview of the historical development, applications in building structures, and future perspectives of timber structures. Properties of wood and wood-based materials relevant to use in structural applications.
- Materials for timber structures.
- Fundamental principles of structural design of timber and steel structures. Limit states in timber structures. Design principles for structural members and components in timber and steel structures.
- Design and verification of timber structural members (bar elements). Differences in the design of timber and steel structural members.
- Connections and joints in timber structures. Differences in the design of joints and connections in timber and steel structures
- Design and verification of basic types of carpentry joints and mechanical fasteners.
- Structural systems of timber-framed buildings I (post-and-beam systems, skeletal frames): structural layout and basic construction details.
- Structural systems of timber-framed buildings II (panel systems, log and timber block construction): structural layout and basic construction details.
- Roof structures – flat and pitched roofs: types, configurations, and key structural detailing.
- Multi-storey timber panel and modular buildings: structural layout and characteristic details.
- Timber and steel column and arch structural systems.
- Manufacturing, assembly, protection, and maintenance of timber structures.
- Defects, failures, and rehabilitation of timber structures.
Exercise
13 weeks, 2 hours/week, compulsory
Syllabus
- Properties of wood and wood-based materials in relation to their use in structural applications; basic requirements for the design and verification of timber load-bearing structures and their components (load-bearing capacity, serviceability).
- Design and verification of timber bar elements: members subjected to axial tension, bending, shear, and torsion.
- Design and verification of timber bar elements considering stability loss: members under axial compression, bending, and combined compression and bending.
- Design and verification of joints, connections, and construction details.
- Project assignment: geometric and structural layout of a selected load-bearing timber structure, spatial rigidity.
- Loading of elements and components of the roof structure.
- –13. Dimensioning of selected structural elements of the building, including key construction details; ongoing consultations.
Self-study
26 weeks, 1 hours/week
Individual preparation for an ending of the course
52 weeks, 1 hours/week