Assessment of Bending Performance of Inverted King-Post Timber Truss Hybrid with Steel Tension Bar

Timber construction is gaining attention as a critical alternative for achieving the 2050 carbon neutrality goal, given its carbon storage capability and lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to reinforced concrete constructions. To expand the application of timber construction, structural members applicable to various architectural designs must be developed. This study analyzed the performance and behavior of hybrid inverted king-post timber trusses under bending loads based on the characteristics of their members. The hybrid inverted king-post timber truss demonstrated performance equal to or greater than the conventional glued laminated timber, despite having only half the cross-sectional area of the glued laminated timber. The hybrid inverted king-post timber truss (B-3-a), with a higher quality of steel and increased diameter of the tensile member, exhibited the highest values in terms of maximum load, modulus of elasticity, and modulus of rupture, confirming its potential for use as a structural material. When utilized as a structural component to support bending loads, it is expected to significantly improve forest resource efficiency by reducing timber usage and enhancing spatial efficiency in buildings. The hybrid truss maximizes performance by designing the system to distribute the loads acting on the entire structure appropriately across each member and ensuring each member is capable of supporting the maximum load applied to it. This study particularly suggests the feasibility of using hybrid timber trusses combining structural glued laminated timber made from domestic small-diameter timber for large-scale and high-rise timber buildings requiring high load-bearing capacities.