MABY4900 Timber building engineering Course description

Timber has been used as building material since antiquity. In particular in Norway, wood has been the main basic material for buildings and structures for centuries. Nowadays, the new technologies in material science has resulted in innovative engineered wood-based products, which have opened wider horizons for building in timber, e.g. tall timber buildings etc. In addition, the climate change due to global warming has accelerated the need for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions and use nature-based products and building materials with low, or even negative, carbon footprint. This makes wood an excellent choice for sustainable buildings, which has steadily led to the increase use of timber in building industry.

Digital competence is a key factor in ensuring the employability of candidates in all professions vital to our society. This course will provide a fundamental understanding of our digital world. It gives an overview of how technology affects our lives and the way we work, as well as our social structures, work patterns and individual preferences contributing to shaping technology. Social media, digital governance, and eHealth are all examples of how technology has profoundly changed our everyday lives in the last few decades. An understanding of the benefits and limitations of technology is vital in any profession, regardless of field or specialty. In this course, students will acquire the basic knowledge required to harness the potential of technology and identify the opportunities to use technology to foster inclusion and participation in an increasingly diverse and multicultural society. They will also learn to recognize its limitations and potentially harmful consequences on work and society, and grapple with the social, ethical and moral issues that arise as technology becomes both increasingly complex and integral to the way our society functions.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge:

The student:

• has advanced knowledge of physical, thermal, hygric, mechanical and other properties of wood and timber products
• has advanced knowledge of wood technology and timber building construction.
• is capable of giving an account of standards and requirements for timber buildings and structures with regard to building physics, fire design, acoustics and structural analysis.
• is capable of assessing climate adaptation solutions for building envelopes and components in timber buildings.
• has specialized knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of wood as building material as well as the optimum combination of timber with other buildings materials.
• is capable of taking the reuse potential of timber products into a life cycle assessment.

Skills:

The student is capable of:

• using analysis methods and calculation tools related to hygrothermal performance, sound proofing and fire resistance of timber building components, according to TEK17 and relevant Norwegian standards, e.g. NS 3516, NS 3512 osv.
• designing common building components and building based on Eurocode 5
• explaining relevant standards and requirements for building materials and components, and assessing documentation from manufacturers/suppliers.
• combining analysis methods for building physics, structural engineering, fire design, acoustics and life-cycle assessments in the choice of materials, components and design.
• criticizing and justifying choices of materials, components and design in relation to climate-related and other loads as well as the building type and use.
• planning and creating a comprehensive sustainable timber building design, including a description of the materials and components used in the building envelope, the load bearing system and the internal building elements.
• interpreting simulation tool results to revise and optimize the proposed design

General competence:

The student is capable of:

• explaining the background for user-related, societal and environmental requirements for buildings.
• applying relevant regulations, instructions and documentation.
• presenting results in a scholarly, professional manner with the help of written reports and oral presentations.
• using scholarly articles to keep up with latest developments in the field
• working in teams

The teaching consists of lectures, demonstration of measurement methods and simulations tools. In addition, a project assignment will be given in which the students are to perform analytical and simulation-based calculations of the performance of a timber building in connection with different engineering aspects.

The following required coursework must be approved before a student can take the exam:

1. Meet all deadlines for submission of all project parts
2. Approved project parts

Students who fail to meet the coursework requirements can be given up to one re-submission opportunity before the exam.

Portfolio exam that consist of:

A project report, which consists of a set of 4-5 sub-assignments, in groups of 2-3 students (approx. 50 pages, excl. appendices).

Each group's work will be assessed together as portfolio with one individual grade at the end of the semester, but all parts that make up the portfolio must be assessed as "pass" in order for the student to pass the course.

The overall assessment can be appealed.

All aids are permitted.

Graded scale A-F.

One internal examiner.

External examiners are used regularly.

Dimitrios Kraniotis