Steel Expertise and Digital Methods for Timber Hybrid Structures
Development efforts aimed at increasing the use of wood and automation levels are advancing the internationalization and exports of SMEs in Northern Ostrobothnia, while also strengthening their competitiveness and business operations.
Timber as a Response to Construction Industry Challenges
The project brings novelty by integrating steel expertise and digital methods in a multidisciplinary way, using concrete examples from the wood industry. Wood is a renewable, versatile, and easily processed material, whose use in large-scale construction is growing globally. In Finland, this trend has been seen in the construction of wooden apartment buildings using, for example, CLT elements. At the same time, environmental trends and health considerations have boosted the popularity of log homes.
One of the biggest challenges in construction is installation speed, the lack of development of which keeps costs high and timelines long.
“A key focus of the project is reducing installation time. Installation-related factors are considered already in the design phase of hybrid structures, so that ease of assembly is maximized during manufacturing – for example, through the use of form-fitting steel joints,” says Project Manager Markku Keskitalo from the University of Oulu’s Kerttu Saalasti Institute, Future Manufacturing Technologies (FMT) research group.
Material costs are also difficult to predict, and alternative material solutions for load-bearing structures are not easily available. The TeräsPuu project offers a variety of solutions for developing wood products and their installation.
Developing Materials and Structures for Better Energy Efficiency
The development efforts focus on CLT/CLC elements, glulam beams and logs, boxed structures, and fire-resistant materials. In addition to hybrid structures combining wood and steel, the project explores the use of other low-carbon alternative materials from both technical and business perspectives. The suitability tests for different product types will be developed to better meet the needs of the wood and construction industries, utilizing an existing materials testing laboratory.
The structural development work especially targets the optimization of mechanical properties by combining different materials to improve competitiveness.
“The goal is to improve the energy efficiency of structures, reduce carbon footprints, lower costs, and improve predictability of material prices. For example, in wood-steel hybrid structures, the aim is to reduce the required amount of wood by adding a minimal amount of steel – so that both wood and steel usage increases in the construction industry in an environmentally responsible way,” Keskitalo explains.
Robotics and XR Technologies in Multidisciplinary Development
The project also explores the use of robotics and XR technology. The manufacturability of the developed hybrid structures is improved especially through robotics. A simple example is the robotic finishing of ready-made wall surfaces (dry, moist, and outdoor conditions). The TeräsPuu project strengthens multidisciplinary cooperation in the region to develop new low-carbon structural solutions and renew the business sector.
As a result of the project, a new center of expertise will emerge in Northern Ostrobothnia, where traditional and strong industries – such as the wood and steel sectors – can innovate using interdisciplinary methods, leveraging each other’s strengths. The knowledge generated during the project lays the foundation for the future by producing new insights into hybrid structures from both technical and commercial perspectives, in line with the principles of sustainable development.
The project is implemented by the Future Manufacturing Technologies (FMT) research group of the University of Oulu’s Kerttu Saalasti Institute, Centria University of Applied Sciences (Ylivieska unit), and Nivala Industrial Park Ltd.
Read more: Teräspuu project page