Design rules for robustness require insensitivity to local failure and the prevention of progressive collapse. This paper will evaluate typical secondary structures for timber roof structures against these requirements, comparing the results against typical reasons for damages and failure. Applying the finding that most failures of timber structures are not caused by local effects but by global (systematic) defects, it is shown that the objective of load transfer - often mentioned as preferable - should be critically analysed. Based on these findings, proposals for structural systems and details towards a robust design of wide-span timber structures are given.     «

Design rules for robustness require insensitivity to local failure and the prevention of progressive collapse. This paper will evaluate typical secondary structures for timber roof structures against these requirements, comparing the results against typical reasons for damages and failure. Applying the finding that most failures of timber structures are not caused by local effects but by global (systematic) defects, it is shown that the objective of load transfer - often mentioned as preferable...     »