The load-carrying capacity of laminated veneer lumber hasn’t been its strongest selling point in the past, but research from Deakin University has shown interesting results.
There are environmental and potentially economic advantages to using laminated veneer lumber for building structures, but perceptions about the material’s strength have hindered its popularity.
Building on previous work in the field, the Deakin team, led by Dr Anastasia Globa, tested how the strategic placement of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) could improve the flexural strength of timber beams.
They found that using unidirectional CFRP, applied as a U-wrap on the tension side of beams, improves load carrying by 25%, stiffness by 20% and ductility by 30 per cent. The U-wrap reinforcement also shifted the mode of failure from abrupt to gradual.
Source:
Globa, A., Subhani, M., Moloney, J., & Al-Ameri, R. (2018). Carbon fibre and structural timber composites for engineering and construction. Journal of Architectural Engineering, 24(3).
