Determining the mechanical properties of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels is an important issue. A property that is particularly important for CLT used as shear walls in buildings is the in-plane shear modulus. In this study, a method to determine the in-plane shear modulus of 3- and 5-layer CLT panels was developed based on picture frame tests and a correction factor evaluated from finite element simulations. The picture frame test is a biaxial test where a panel is simultaneously compressed and tensioned. Two different testing methods are simulated by finite elements: theoretical pure shear models as a reference cases and picture frame models to simulate the picture frame test setup. An equation for calculating the shear modulus from the measured shear stiffnesses in the picture frame tests is developed by comparisons between tests and finite element simulations of the CLT panels. The results show that pure shear conditions are achieved in the central region of the panels. No influence from the size of the tested panels is observed in the finite element simulations.
In high timber structures, cross-laminated timber panels are common structural elements. The wall and floor panels are typically connected with steel plates, angle brackets, hold-downs, and screws. Based on analytical research, it seems that panel-to-panel connections give additional stiffness due to structural redundancies resulting from...
The scope of this study is to evaluate the existing test methods for deciding the in-plane shear strength and stiffness of cross laminated timber (CLT) panels, and suggest a new test method. The evaluation of the existing methods point out that none of the methods isolate the pure membrane shear stress. This means that the results have to be interpreted...
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