Board width-to-thickness ratios in non-edge-glued cross laminated timber (CLT) panels influence the in-plane shear stiffness of the panel. The objective is to show the impact of board width-to-thickness ratios for 3- and 5-layer CLT panels. Shear stiffnesses were calculated using finite element analysis and are shown as reduction factors relative to the shear stiffnesses of edge-glued CLT panels. Board width-to-thickness ratios were independently varied for outer and inner layers. Results show that the reduction factor lies in the interval of 0.6 to 0.9 for most width-to-thickness ratios. Results show also that using boards with low width-to-thickness ratios give low reduction factors. The calculated result differed by 2.9% compared to existing experimental data.
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.
