Author(s)

J.-W.G. van de Kuilen

Abstract

The influence of deterioration on the lifetime of timber structures J.-W. G. van de Kuilen Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, l%e Netherlands Abstract Decay and drying cracks affect the strength of historic timber structures. Because of the traditional timber dimensions used, drying cracks are often large, decreasing the effective cross section of members. Deterioration can also be caused by biological decay, depending on wood species, climatic conditions, structural detailing, etc. Decay can affect the load carrying capacity, having considerable economic and cultural consequences. However, when the decay is no longer active and the damage is limited, repair is not always necessary. When the reliability of the structure is above a certain minimum acceptance level, it is still able to fulfil its task and can be maintained in the original state as much as possible. A method to determine the safety of deteriorated structures is lifetime modelling using d

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