Grant: Alliance Grants

There is an acute need for research to develop novel and value-added applications for wood to maximize the benefits from sustainably harvesting Canada's abundant forests and to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings by expanding the use of the sustainable material wood. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) provides many benefits when compared to either light-frame wood or concrete construction, such as a high-level of prefabrication and fast erection. As such, CLT constitutes a promising solution for numerous structural applications, including as floors for large residential and commercial buildings. However, the current lack of specific design guidance for the joints between individual CLT floor panels leads to uneconomical and inefficient structural solutions with narrow column grids and secondary beam systems. Using experimental and numerical methods, this Alliance project will investigate the viability of hardwood keys as high-performance joints for CLT floor panels. The project will facilitate the development of design guidance for such joints in CLT floor systems that constitute a promising solution for many applications.