The timber chapter in the New Eurocode 8: main updates and significant improvements

The revision of the Timber Chapter (i.e. Chapter 13 and Annex L) of Eurocode 8 (prEN1998- 1-2) has led to significant changes compared to the 2009 edition of Eurocode 8 (EN 1998-1- 1:2004/AC:2009). The new version: i) introduces detailed provisions for seismic design of innovative and widely used engineered wood product such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) and Oriented Strand Boards (OSB); ii) defines and provides design rules and details for different structural systems; and iii) specifies the dissipative zones for each structural system. Capacity-based design rules are introduced at multiple levels (i.e. connections, walls, and entire buildings) along with updated values of overstrength factors. Revised values of behaviour factors are provided for medium (ductility class 2, DC2) and highly dissipative (ductility class 3, DC3) structures. Provisions for the use of bonded-in rods are also given, and a new Annex for non-linear static analyses of timber buildings is included. This paper highlights the main updates introduced in the Timber chapter of the new Eurocode 8 and points out the most significant improvements with respect to the previous version of the Eurocode 8.