Cross laminated timber (CTL) has become a popular, greener alternative to well established steel and concrete for structural construction. CTL represents a technical, cost-effective and contemporary timber product for building structures. Nevertheless, it is imperative to understand various characteristics such as mechanical properties, fire behaviours, use of technologies, designs and structural connections of CTL.
Key words: cross laminated timber, mechanical properties, technology, performance, behaviours
| Reference | Key themes and contributions | Relevance to research topic |
| Frangi, A, Fontana, M, Knobloch, M & Bochicchio, G 2008, ‘Fire behaviour of cross-laminated solid timber panels’, Fire Safety Science, vol. 9, pp. 1279-1290. |
The article shows that fire behaviours of CLT panels are influenced by observed behaviours of each layer of CTL. | Fire is a common accident and thus engineers and firefighters must understand behaviours of materials used for construction |
| Hindman, DP & Bouldin, JC 2014, ‘Mechanical Properties of Southern Pine Cross-Laminated Timber’, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering. |
The article shows that CTL products require tests to ascertain their mechanical properties against the recommended standards. Moreover, it is imperative to understand factors that influence such properties. | CTL products should be tested for their mechanical properties (the bending, stiffness and shear properties of CLT) to guarantee their resistance to seismic activities and delamination |
| Kramer, A, Barbosa, AR & Sinha, A 2014, ‘Viability of Hybrid Poplar in ANSI Approved Cross-Laminated Timber Applications’, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, vol. 26, no. 7. |
The study shows that CTL technology could ensure that low-density hardwood species are made to meet specified standards for CTL construction | A widespread acceptance of CTL has led to the introduction of low-density hardwood species not traditionally used for construction and not found in the approved list and thus developers must evaluate their products for approval status |
| Oh, J-K, Lee, J-J & Hong, J-P 2015, ‘Prediction of compressive strength of cross-laminated timber panel’, Journal of Wood Science,vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 28-34. |
Given the complex processes of manufacturing CTL panels, it would be expensive and time-consuming to use experimental strategies to evaluate their mechanical properties. Hence, it is imperative to develop lamina property-based models to predict mechanical properties of CTL panels. | Models for predicting mechanical properties of CTL products are required to save time and costs |
| Van De Kuilen, J, Ceccotti, A, Xia, Z & He, M 2011, ‘Very Tall Wooden Buildings with Cross Laminated Timber’, Procedia Engineering, vol. 14, pp. 1621–1628. |
It has been determined that CTL panels function well and are extremely efficient for multi-storey buildings up to 10 storeys. | Developers have continued to explore new possibilities with CTL and thus understanding how they can function with other materials in very high buildings is important |
| Vessby, J, Enquist, B, Petersson, H & Alsmarker, T 2009, ‘Experimental study of cross-laminated timber wall panels’, European Journal of Wood and Wood Products, vol. 67, no. 2, pp. 211-218. |
CTL layers require tests to determine their strength and stiffness because these properties influence performance. Moreover, CTL panels can perform better when connected effectively to each other. | Understanding structural performance of CTL layers is imperative. In addition, connecting methods may also affect structural performance of CTL. That is, good connecting methods lead to improved structural performance of CTL |