Preliminary study on wire prestressing methods for timber pieces reinforcement

The possibility of improving the bending strength of timber beams through prestress is discussed. Different prestressing and anchoring procedures are investigated: (i) post-tension, with mechanical anchorage on the ends of the wood elements; (ii) pre-tension, with the anchorages being either mechanical, as in the previous system, or glued, with the force being gradually transferred through shear stresses along a certain length of the wire/wood interface. The main conclusion is that any of the procedures may be advantageously used with either small (mass-production) or long glued-laminated timber beams, as a possible alternative to CFRP reinforced beams. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.