IIE Lunchtime Seminar - Felix Wiesner (University of Edinburgh)

Structural Performance of Cross-Laminated Timber Walls in Fire 

Abstract:

Laminated mass timber products like cross-laminated timber (CLT) or glued-laminated timber (Glulam) have become a competitive construction material for increasingly taller structures. Due to its combustible nature, fire safety has been a limiting factor for tall timber buildings. The structural fire safety of mass timber has almost exclusively been assessed within the traditional fire resistance framework, relying on pass/fail test results from standardised furnaces. The applicability of standard fire testing to combustible materials must be assessed. For his PhD work, Felix Wiesner investigates the structural capacity of cross-laminated timber on multiple scales using bespoke experimental set-ups. The aim of his work is to improve the fundamental understanding of the influence of adhesives and lamination configurations on the load bearing capacity of CLT.

Bio:

Felix Wiesner is a doctoral student at the BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering under the supervision of Prof. Luke Bisby and Dr Rory Hadden. His research focuses on the load bearing capacity of laminated timber elements in fire. Through experimental work he is working on a better understanding of the behaviour of heated and burning engineered timber products based on their configuration and the adhesives used in their production. His research is generously supported by Ove Arup and Partners Limited.

Prior to joining the BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering, Felix obtained his undergraduate degree in Structural and Fire Safety Engineering from the University of Edinburgh.