Estimation of residual compressive strength on cross laminated timber with biodeterioration damage

IRG/WP 21-40918

R Inoue, T Mori, K Kambara, W Ohmura

CLT is susceptible to biodeterioration such as fungal decay and termite attack during long-term use for buildings. It is necessary to know the residual strength performance of biodegraded CLT for estimating future performance and aging of CLT. In this study, compression tests of CLT damaged by brown rot fungi and termites were conducted to clarify the relationship between residual strength and mass loss rate. The relationship between strength and defect rate of effective area (parallel layer’s area) calculated from CT scan data was also investigated. As a result, it was found that there is a negative correlation between the defect rate of the effective area and the strength, regardless of whether the deterioration factor is decay or termites, and this relationship may be used to estimate the residual strength. In the case of termite-damaged specimens, a low correlation was found between residual stress and mass loss rate, suggesting that it is difficult to estimate residual strength from the mass loss.


Keywords: compression strength, cross laminated timber, decay, termite, biodeterioration

Conference: 21-11-1/2 IRG52 Webinar


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