Advanced wood engineering: glulam beams

The main objective of this experimental study is the determination of the flexural properties of reinforced and unreinforced glued-laminated beam. Why reinforcing glulam beam? Reinforced glulam beams cost less because the use of reinforcement will reduce the need of a top grade laminate on the extreme tension face (less high grade material can be used); moreover the volume of wood is reduced. Also, reinforced glulam beams have lower product variability, they are not affected by natural growth characteristics, and the manufacture of reinforcement is consistent and controlled. Two types of reinforcement were investigated: steel plate and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP). The wood part of all the beams were made by laminating three wood beams of 6 by 3.6 by 176 cm. The unreinforced beams are made only from wood having a finished dimension equal to 6 by 11 by 176 cm. The steel reinforced beams were glulam wood beams fully covered on one side using steel plate of thickness equal to 1.5 mm. The CFRP reinforced beams were glulam wood beams covered with CFRP of thickness of 1.2 mm and width of 5 cm and the length of 176 cm. The results indicate that the behavior of reinforced beams is totally different from that of unreinforced one. The reinforcement has changed the mode of failure from brittle to ductile and has increased the load-carrying capacity of the beams. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.