A Comparison of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) Floor Panels using Finite Element Analysis and Experimental Fire Testing
IRG/WP 22-40955
M Yasir, A Macilwraith, K Ruane
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a relatively new timber product and has gained popularity in North America and Europe as a construction material. As a sustainable engineered timber product, CLT offers many advantages over solid wood, concrete, or steel construction. However, the use of timber in medium to high rise buildings is often avoided mainly due to its combustible nature. In this paper, a numerical model of a CLT floor panel was developed using the Finite Element (FE) Method in Abaqus. This paper analyses the thermal behaviour of a CLT panel when exposed to a standard test fire. In the modelling of a CLT floor panel, Eurocode 5 temperature-dependent relationships were adopted. The results of the FE model were then compared with the experimental tests performed for a similar-sized panel. The charring rate and temperature distribution across the depth of the CLT panel were investigated for all test specimens and comparisons were made with the experimental results. The comparisons of FE results with experimental results showed that the FE analysis gave reasonably accurate results to allow for the development of full-scale computational models of a prototype CLT building.
Keywords: CLT, finite element analysis, charring rate