HQP Seminar XXXVI

Seminar Overview

This seminar will provide an overview of the current state of the art in vibration serviceability design for mass timber floor systems, with a focus on CSA O86-24, the draft second-generation Eurocode 5 (prEC5), and the U.S. Mass Timber Floor Vibration Design Guide.

Dr. Zhou will present key research outcomes to date, including experimental findings on the effects of support conditions and floor assemblies, a comparative assessment of current design methods, the development of a footfall-force database for stochastic load modelling, measured distributions of floor vibration response under random walking, and a design-based parametric study.

The seminar will conclude with a discussion of ongoing and future research toward a generalized vibration serviceability design method that accounts for variability in walking excitation and floor response. A reliability-based design approach applicable to a broader range of mass timber floor systems will also be presented.

About the Speaker

Dr. Jianhui Zhou, Ph.D., P.Eng.

University of Northern British Columbia

Dr. Jianhui Zhou is an Associate Professor of Wood Engineering in the School of Engineering at the University of Northern British Columbia and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta. He earned his Ph.D. in Wood Engineering from the University of New Brunswick, where he was a Vanier Scholar and received first place in the Forest Products Society Wood Award.

His research areas include structural wood engineering, structural dynamics, vibration serviceability, building acoustics, computational design and digital
fabrication, and non-destructive testing and monitoring. Dr. Zhou has authored or co-authored more than 100 journal and conference papers. He contributes to the National Model Code Committee on Referenced Documents, as well as technical committees and task groups for CSA O86, CSA O125, ASTM D07, ASTM E33, and ANSI/APA PRG 320.

His current research focuses on holistic design methods for mass timber buildings, innovative wood-building systems, digital design and fabrication, IoT-based sensing, and value-added wood products made from local and underutilized resources.

Share & Participation

Thank you for your continued participation in the HQP Seminar Series under the NSERC Alliance Grant – Next-Generation Wood Construction Students participating in the grant are expected to attend at least 50% of the HQP Seminar Series. Please feel free to share this seminar with colleagues, collaborators, and anyone interested in mass timber floor systems,structural dynamics, vibration serviceability, and timber engineering.

We look forward to your participation in HQP Seminar XXXVI.