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 shear walls for large and tall residential and commercial buildings, yet the current lack of specific design guidance for CLT shear walls leads to uneconomical and inefficient structural solutions. More detailed procedures to estimate the resistance of CLT shear walls are required, specifically, guidance with respect to the net section resistance of CLT panels at hold-downs and the required number of fasteners. Using experimental and analytical methods, this Alliance project will investigate the viability of self-tapping screws (STS) as high-performance connections for CLT shear walls. The project will facilitate the development of reliable design guidance for STS connections in CLT shear wall systems that constitute a promising solution for many applications, including tall structures where the design is governed by seismic loading.