Strength and stiffness of cross laminated timber at in-plane beam loading

This report concerns element strength and stiffness of cross laminated timber (CLT) at in-plane beam loading and includes presentation of experimental investigations and a review of some analytical models for structural analysis. A total of 20 individual tests were carried out, divided into five different test series which each comprise four nominally equal tests. The test series include prismatic beams (two test series), beams with a hole (two test series) and beams with an end-notch (one test series). All CLT elements were composed of 5 layers of laminations, with three layers of longitudinal laminations of width 40 mm and two layers of transversal laminations of width 20 mm.

Test results relating to beam strength are presented in terms of maximum applied load and also in terms of stress components as calculated by analytical models. The review of models for stress analysis reveals significant influence of the element layup and laminations width on the predicted stresses. Test results relating to beam stiffness are present as element shear stiffness and element local and global modulus of elasticity, evaluated based on the European test standard EN 408.