Experimental tests on cross-laminated timber joints and walls

TLDR

Cross‑laminated timber is generally linear‑elastic except under compression and tends to fail brittly, and its performance under dynamic loads such as earthquakes is highly dependent on the connections used. The study aims to clarify how different connection types and their combinations affect the behavior of cross‑laminated timber walls and to assess the sensitivity of test results to post‑processing models. The authors performed a series of monotonic and cyclic single‑joint and wall tests to investigate joint behavior in cross‑laminated timber structures. The experiments revealed distinct failure modes and quantified contributions to overall wall deflection, providing specific values for each joint type.

Abstract

As a product, cross-laminated timber exhibits widely linear-elastic behaviour (except for compressive stress) and a tendency to have brittle failure mechanisms. Therefore, especially at dynamic loadings (e.g. earthquakes), the behaviour of cross-laminated timber structures is highly dependent on the connections used. Based on several single-joint and wall tests performed monotonically as well as cyclically, this paper provides improved insight into the behaviour of different joints that make up cross-laminated timber structures. In addition to information on the failure modes that occurred and specific values determined by way of experimental tests, interpretations of different contributions towards the overall deflection of the tested wall systems are presented. The influence of different connection types and their combinations within one wall system is another topic discussed. Finally, the sensitivity of resulting test properties concerning the post-processing models used is singled out as a central theme.