CLT Plates under Concentrated Loading - Experimental Identification of Crack Modes and Corresponding Failure Mechanisms

Abstract

Since wood products for structural elements, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), have gained importance in the building sector, the need for appropriate and reliable design codes has become essential. For this reason, this work focuses on global failure mechanisms and the corresponding evolution of different crack modes in CLT plates, depending on geometric and/or material related influence quantities. Therefore, plate-bending experiments on 3- and 5-layered CLT-plates were carried out. In addition to standard evaluation methods, each specimen were cut into cubes (10/10/10 cm) to get information about the failure modes inside the plates. Areas and location of dominant shear failure, tensile failure, delamination, and mixed failuremodes could be clearly defined and connected to geometry and loading situation. Based on this evaluation well known but not yet in detail described effects, such as the ductile structural behavior of CLT plates, can be explained. © RILEM 2014.