Abstract
The paper proposes a conceptual framework to evaluate the reuse potential of steel-timber connections. The framework includes three indices for disassembly, deconstruction, and reuse. The first index evaluates the disassembly and reassembly capability based on deformations recorded at connections from experiments and adopts structural engineering parameters. The deconstruction index is related to the type of tools required for disassembly, whilst the reuse index employs cascading principles for wood, and waste framework directive for steel in this case. Focus is given to the disassembly index, and the development of a loading protocol for steel-timber connections to evaluate their structural reuse potential, based on evaluation of exceedance of floor design loads during the design life of a building. The framework is applied in a case study evaluating the reuse potential of shear connections of floors in steel-framed buildings with engineered timber floors. The results indicate that the reassembled steel-timber shear connections have similar stiffness, strength, ductility, and failure modes as the original tests after being subjected to ten loading-unloading cycles to 40% of the original capacity, confirming the full structural reusability of the steel profile and the timber panel. The proposed loading protocol can be adapted to other structural systems to evaluate the structural reuse potential, and the wider framework to evaluate the structural circularity of buildings.