CIVIL 717 : Advanced Structural Timber

Engineering

2024 Semester Two (1245) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Advanced topics in timber design such as: shearwalls, diaphragms, special glulam beams, bolted connections, new fasteners, engineered wood products, laminated bridges, inspection of timber structures. Emphasis will be placed on latest international developments. The core skills are taught and accompanied by an individual project in which independent research is undertaken to solve a challenging timber connection problem.

Course Overview

 Review of timber design principles and Quick-Connect connections for portal frames,  Timber rivet connections, Connection with self-tapping screws (European screws), Structural forms and load paths,  Timber diaphragms, Timber structures with damage-avoidance connectors,   Timber structures using the capacity design principles
 Two assignments 1 – Design of a frame with Quick-Connect connections
                                      2 – Design of a timber structure and rivet connections
 Design project          – Design of a multi-storey timber structure using RSFJs

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: CIVIL 451 or 750 or equivalent

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: People and Place
Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Identify the best engineered timber material for a situation (Capability 1.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1)
  2. Analyse a complex connection situations and formulate a design solution (Capability 1.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1)
  3. Apply loading knowledge to determine design demands on structural elements and connections (Capability 1.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1)
  4. Communicate engineering solutions in a clear and detailed manner to allow implementation (Capability 1.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1)
  5. Develop complex numerical structural model using commercial software to determine design demands (Capability 1.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Assignments 40% Individual Coursework
Design project 60% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5
Assignments
Design project

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 points course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 3 hours of lectures, 1 hour tutorial, 2 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 4 hours of work on assignments.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance (in person) is expected at scheduled activities including lectures to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Viewing of recordings is optional. Tutorial material may not all be available on lecture recordings as the objective of tutorials is to answer student questions. 

Piazza is used to supplement the explanation of concepts presented in class, NOT to re-deliver information that has been delivered in the class room. 

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

• Design notes available on CANVAS
• Timber Design Guide, edited Dr Andrew Buchanan, Published NZ TIF, 2008
• NZ structural design actions (NZS 1170)
• NZ timber structures design standard (NZS 3603) - old
• AS/NZS 1720.1:2022 timber design standard
• NZ steel structures design standard (NZS 3404)
• SAP 2000 or ETABS structural analysis softwares

Health & Safety

Students are expected to adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Health and Safety section of the Engineering Undergraduate Handbook.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Students are encouraged to participate in the SET assessment so that the course and its delivery can be improved.

Other Information

No exam for this course

Students are expected to know about timber as a material and able to design timber columns, beams and tension members BEFORE taking this course.

Knowledge and proficiency in using a structural analysis software is expected to be successful in this course.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 06/11/2023 07:37 a.m.