Two-Story CLT Structure Simulated With 6.7 Earthquake

by | Jul 17, 2017 | News

A two-story cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure is being subjected to the forces produced by a 1994 6.7 Northridge earthquake. The engineered simulation is expected to reveal ways in which tall wood buildings could survive damaging earthquakes.

Workers constructed a 22-foot tall wood test structure on UC San Diego’s shake table, a device for shaking structural models or building components with a wide range of simulated ground motions, like earthquakes.

Led by the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), the new test will examine the viability of constructing quake-resistant CLT buildings that could be as tall as 20 stories high.

“We are working to minimize the amount of time buildings are out of service after large earthquakes,” CSM engineer Shiling Pei said in a statement. “We are also focused on cutting the costs required to repair them.”

Cross-laminated timber advocates say it can be used to construct buildings of equal strength and fire-resistance as those made of steel and concrete. It has also fueled the passions of architects and environmentalists, who believe it to be a much greener method for housing the world’s growing population.

From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/two-story-cross-laminated-timber-simulated-67-earthquake?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news

Australian CLT Made From Local Plantation Timber

by | Feb 20, 2017 | News

The long wait for Australian-made cross laminated timber (CLT) is nearly over. Xlam Australia will open its first CLT manufacturing plant in Wodonga and be producing panels for construction by the close of 2017.

The company shared its plans to build a factory in the Albury Wodonga region with Architecture & Design last year, but only now do we know that it is actually going to happen. Fairfax is reporting that the plant has the backing of local, state and federal government and will be complete by April.

The facility will produce 60,000m3 of CLT each year and at capacity production will produce enough to build a project the size of Forte Melbourne – Australia’s largest timber apartment building – each week. It will be produced from local pine, increasing demand for the plantation industry and shortening delivery time and distance.

Currently, CLT is being purchased overseas from companies like Stora Enso, Meyer Timber and Novatop. Australia’s Lendlease has opened a prefabrication plant in Sydney that manufactures CLT framework but it doesn’t create the actual CLT.

Xlam has a number of Australian projects currently underway, including a massive CLT house designed by Fitzpatrick + Partners director James Fitzpatrick.

From Architecture & Design: https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/news/australian-made-clt-from-local-plantation-forests