Experimental investigation of load-bearing capacity and deflections of full-scale glued laminated timber beams

Abstract

With the transition to the design of timber structures in accordance with European standards, problems arise in assessment of the load-bearing capacity of glued timber structures that are caused by insufficient amount of data about the physical, mechanical and deformation properties of glued timber, which is produced in Ukraine. The aim of the work was to determine the load bearing capacity in bending and deflection of a glued timber beam under the action of a concentrated load in the middle of the span. Two glued laminated timber beams were used in the experiment. Both beams were made using lumber from pine wood and a moisture-curing onecomponent polyurethane adhesive Kleiberit PUR 510 FiberBond. The beams have the dimensions of the cross-section: width of 120 mm and height of 180 mm. The length of the beams was 9880 mm. Each beam consisted of 9 layers of 20 mm thick lamellas glued together. Considering the absence of the data on the strength class of the beam material, the theoretical load bearing capacity and deflection were determined according to the characteristics of the GL24h class (minimum strength class), and amounted to 722 kgf and 19.1 cm, respectively. As a result of the tests, the failure load and the deflection of the beams were determined, and the dependences of the deflection on the load were obtained. The actual deflection of the beams determined was 251 mm and 275 mm, which is 1.31 and 1.44 times higher than the predicted deflection. Accordingly, the failure load determined experimentally is 1.96 and 2.03 times higher than the theoretical value. During the tests, the features of the deformation and the nature of the destruction of the beams were investigated. Wherein, the determining factor was the presence of defects in timber and lamellas joints along the length in the most stressed layers. Based on the data obtained, recommendations on manufacturing aimed at the increasing the bending strength of glued laminated timber beams are given. The results obtained will be further used in the development of structural solutions for hybrid timber-concrete floors.