Structural behavior of French Hardwood for better optimization with Eurocodes 5 – EFEUR5

France has Europe's largest hardwood forest but the wood construction market is supplied mainly softwood. The pressure on the resinous resource, increasing the market for timber construction in France and local hardwood resource available logically grow stakeholders in the timber industry to reflect and begin to implement these species in buildings. Eurocodes and European standards associated are built on the experiences and research on conifers. Optimization of hardwood timber structures can only be achieved by redefining the same parameters and properties for hardwood.
The EFEUR5 program (Structural Behavioral of French Hardwood Wood species for their better integration Eurocodes 5) gets this goal and this ambition. The program, focused on the species of oak, beech and poplar, species with the greatest potential, is based on the pooling of the most experienced research teams in terms of wooden structures. This project aims to develop tools and knowledge necessary for the marketing of products based on structural French hardwoods. The aim is to mobilize the use of these species for timber structures justified according to Eurocode 5 through validation rules or the corrections of the rules. Although few studies on some hardwood species exist, they must be complemented by new scientific and experimental data. Several uncertainties are to raise, including:
- Knowledge of the long-term behavior of hardwood species;
- Knowledge of mechanical properties called secondary hardwood species proprerties ;
- The definition of calculation models for assemblies of hardwood pieces;
- Anticipation of mechanical properties : knowledge of the impact of the development of the tree on the properties of the material link between anatomy and physics.
The EFEUR5 project is planned for 48 months. It is based on knowledge and scientific skills developed on the wood material and wooden structures by french laboratories (LERMAB, GEMH, LMGC and LERFOB). The technology transfer center (CRITT Bois) will coordinate this project, will prepare the transfer of project results, and will guide the work for major economic opportunities for the timber industry.