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INTRODUCTION
This paper presents the development of the KT-Wood Space Truss System (KT-W) utilizing
round timber processed from young trees culled from forests. As a significant percentage of
forestation problems in Japan can be traced to young trees not being properly or selectively
culled, their effective utilization contributes to maintaining a forest in prime condition. This
results from their added value giving an economic incentive to cull them and thereby
contributes the proper forest maintenance and the protection of the forest environment.
The purpose of the development is to utilize effectively the medium and low quality timbers
(Japanese cedar and Japanese cypress: conifer trees) as value added material. The feature of
the joint system is the main point to use such material.
To the KT-Series (KT-I-III) that is patented in many countries around the world and been
applied to over 350 structures in Japan, the KT-W is a new addition. KT-I-III and W have
mutual compatibility in the installation of their respective parts.
The joint system is designed in order to endure more severe loads and/or the detrimental
effects of environmental conditions than ever before and to fit well to the esthetic
requirement such as graceful appearance, hi order to realize these architectural requirements,
the system has following special features: 1) ease of fabrication without the need of skilled
labor (no welding process), 2) high reliability factor when joints under static and cyclic
loading, 3) ease of assembly at the construction site, 4) exceptional resistance to corrosion of
metal part, 5) mixed installation of steel and wood structures because of the full compatibility
of KT-series, and 6) ease of replacement of decayed members.
The paper reports the outline of the system, full size material tests (tensile, compression and
pull-out test of lag screw) for constructing wooden space truss system.
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156 SPACE STRUCTURES 5
screw can be introduced, looseness of the joint that will be generally serious defect of the
wooden structures can be easily eliminated. In case of the shear bolt joint that is most
commonly used, it is not easy to eliminate such defect. This idea is similar to "pull bolt joint
(so called Hiki-bolt)" that is the traditional Japanese carpenter's technique. Another important
Round Timber
KT-truss Joint End-disk (E-disk)
assembly
Long type
advantage is that any bending moment doesn't occur at the joint, because of no joint
eccentricity. This feature is especially important for the weak material in joining such as
wood. The joint cone is the interconnecting part between KT-truss joint assembly and end
disk. Joint cone is screwed into the end disk and glued (see Fig. 1,2). Specially designed lag
screw that pull out resistance is strengthened is applied for the joint system (See Fig. 3). Fully
mechanical joint realizes no need of skilled labor for fabrication and installation. All metal
wares are elegantly powder coated in general and perform a graceful appearance. The powder
coating endures preferably more than 15 years even in the outdoors in our experience.
Installation of Members
During the assembly of the space truss, the threaded end of the bolt is pushed into the
hexagonal sleeve and then the hexagonal sleeve is turned at the threaded hole of the node (see
Fig. 4). In this manner, assisted by the pushing device, which provides a pushing action, the
bolt enters the node hole smoothly.
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IMAI ET AL. 157
The installation of members is, therefore, simplified assuming that the distance between
adjacent nodes accurately reflects the correct measurement of the final assemblage. This
mechanism, which eliminates the necessity to consider the order in which members are
assembled, drastically simplifies dismounting in the event that disassembled bars occur.
Especially the ease of the replacement of decayed members is inevitable in wooden structures.
The members of traditional systems cannot be assembled in this manner due to the fact that
the bolt must project slightly from the hollow sleeve in order to be screwed into the node hole.
Because of full compatibility of installation in the KT-I-III and W, the mixed use of wooden
Fig. 5
Citizen's
" Workshop for
construction
of elliptic
End-disc(E-disc) \ Lag screw
dome
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158 SPACE STRUCTURES 5
Allowable compression and tension stress of timber are based on the medium quality cypress
by AIJ code (Japanese code) so far. Pull out strength is based on the
author's test in the succeeding section. Pull out strength is possibly the
ruling factor of the joint. Designer can choose the suitable number of lag
screws in order to make the structure economical
regarding the magnitude of the tensile stress of member.
By the full size tensile test, three times of the AIJ code
is obtained. In the future, such result that is quite
different from the code should be evaluated based on |
sufficient number of data.
d (mm)
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 Fig. 8 Failure mode
Fig. 9 load-deformation (tensile test) (compression test)
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IMAI ET AL. 159
This shows the possibility that the round timbers with so called medium and low quality can
be applied widely equally to high grade material. In case of cypress timber with narrow
annual rings, strength/weight ratio is greater or equal to ultra-duralumin. Surface defect
doesn't affect seriously to the strength of the timber. And also it is clarified that the damping
factor of the wooden space
frame is considerably high
compared with steel member
by authors' another study in
this conference. By this
analysis, wood has a
possibility as a new structural
material for the space frame.
In compression, specimens
fractured by the fiber buckling
(Fig. 8). The maximum stress
is grater than the minimum
specified material strength of
medium gradematerialbyAIJ
code roughly. The results Fig. 10 load-deformation ( compression test)
show the ductile deformation
after yielding.
(MPa) (MPa)
*• • • •
ft
• •»
•• **
v. •
Fig. 11 Pull out strength of lag screw (left :single bolt, right :double bolts)
Fig. 11 shows the pull out unit shear strength ( t r ) per surface area of lag screw. There is a
tendency that x r of single bolt is greater than double bolts. This results from unequal pull
out strength because of unequal tightening of bolt. By improving tightening method, strength
will be higher.
CONCLUSIONS
The wooden space truss system that utilizes effectively the so-called medium and low quality
timbers with small and medium size is successfully developed. And the effectiveness of
combining the previously existing steel space truss system to the wooden system is clarified.
The possibility of the wood as a new structural material for the space frame was clarified. The
potentialities of the wooden space truss were also shown in this study.
Acknowledgement
The authors express their gratitude to the forester (manager) of Hyogo Prefecture Mr. Shigeru
Okada for his beneficial and hospital suggestions.
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160 SPACE STRUCTURES 5
REFERENCES
1. Imai K., Morita T., Yamaoka Y., Wakiyama K. and Tsujioka.S. : The KT Space Truss
System", FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SPACE STRUCTURES, vol. 2,
GULDFORD, 1993,pp.l374-1382.
2. Mengeringhausen Max :Raumfachwerke aus Staben und Knoten, Bauverlag, Berlin, 1975
3. Nooshin H.: Third International Conference on Space Structures, Elsevier Applied Science
Publishers, London, 1984.
4. Imai K., Wakiyama K., Tsujioka.S., Fujimoto M., Hideki W., Masanobu I. and Morita T. :
Development of the KT-Wood Space Truss System, IABSE Conference Lahti, Finland,
August, 2001
5. Imai K, Fujita Y, Wakiyama K, Tsujioka S, FujimotoM, Watanabe H, Inada M, and Morita
T: FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE KT-WOOD SPACE TRUSS SYSTEM, Proc. of
IASS Int. Symposium 2001, Nagoya, Oct. 9-13, TPNo.157, 2001.10
6. Furukawa T., Imai K., Fujimoto M, Komedani N., Inoue R., Okamoto K. and Fujita
Y.:Dynamic Loading Experiment of Wooden Single Layer Two-Way Grid Cylindrical Shell
Roof, FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SPACE STRUCTURES,
GULDFORD, 2002, will be issued
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