Reliability assessment of wooden trusses of a historical school

• Main Authors: Quizon, Alvin G., Garciano, Lessandro Estelito O.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2019
• Subjects: School buildings—Conservation and restoration > Philippines; Buildings—Retrofitting > Philippines; Trusses > Testing; Civil Engineering
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/444; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1443&context=faculty_research
• Institution: De La Salle University

Records show that the National Structural Code of the Philippines (NSCP) wind load requirement increases over time. Increase wind velocity from stronger typhoon events translates to additional wind pressure. These changes pose a threat to existing historical structures such as Gabaldon schools which were designed and constructed more than a hundred years ago. The Department of Education (DepEd) continues its efforts in its conservation. Reliability assessment of wooden trusses is necessary to check if there is a need to retrofit to maintain its function and preserve its significance in the country's history. In the analysis of the roof trusses affected directly by wind load, all loads are considered as constant except for the uniformly distributed wind load. These constant loads serve as the initial stresses acting within the truss members. Uniformly distributed wind load produces additional stress on top of the initial stress. Any changes in the amount of wind load constitute proportionally to changes in the stresses of truss members. A commercially available software makes it easier to identify corresponding stresses for several amounts of wind load. Using a spreadsheet, a simple graphical model and equation are generated expressing the relationship between wind velocities against axial force, shear force and bending moment. Mechanical properties of wood establish the limits of its strength in terms of wind velocity using the graphical model and equation obtained. The result reveals the limitation of each truss member in terms of wind velocity that even ordinary people can now easily perceived and understood. © Int. J. of GEOMATE.