Behavior of Cross-Laminated Timber Panels Made from Fibre-Managed Eucalyptus nitens under Short-Term Serviceability Loads

In this study, the preliminary serviceability performance of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels constructed from fibre-managed Eucalyptus nitens (E. nitens) was investigated via bending and vibration tests. Linear four-point bending tests were performed to determine the stiffness and deflection of all CLT panels under serviceability loads. The dynamic response of CLT panels was tested using a basketball and an accelerometer. The fundamental natural frequencies of all tested panels were above the minimum frequency limit (8 Hz) when extrapolated to spans of up to 4.4 m. The configurations of E. nitens CLT panels were based on different modulus of elasticity (MOE) values for each board. Using higher MOE timber boards as the top and bottom layers can significantly increase the serviceability performance of both bending and vibration tests. The same experiments were carried out on two CLT panels made of strength class C24 Spruce-Pine-Fir to compare the serviceability performance of E. nitens CLT. The results demonstrated that E. nitens is a reliable resource for CLT manufacturing, and exhibits better serviceability performance compared to Spruce CLT. This provides more sustainable options for a species traditionally destined for pulp.