Finite element simulation of cross-laminated timber panels under compression perpendicular to plane

Resumo

Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) is a composite panel made up of structurally glued layers of wood
lamellae stacked crosswise at 90° that has been standing out in the sustainable construction scenario. Among its
main features, it is possible to highlight the excellent weight/strength ratio, when compared to other traditional
construction materials, and great stiffness in both directions, provided by its orthogonal layerwise configuration.
Frequently employed as a slab element in mid-rise and high-rise timber buildings, these engineered wood panels
are often subjected to elevated compression loads perpendicular to plane in different loading conditions. This paper
focus on the column-slab-wall load case of CLT slabs by proposing a numerical finite element model capable of
simulating its elastoplastic nonlinear behavior under compression perpendicular to plane. An orthotropic
constitutive model employing Hill’s yield criterion combined with isotropic bilinear hardening was used, applied
to 20-node solid hexahedral finite elements in Ansys Mechanical APDL software. The numerical results presented
a good correlation with experimental data of non-edge-glued CLT panels, especially when gaps between lamellae
were considered in the model’s geometry. Finally, the anisotropic failure criterion of Tsai-Wu was assessed,
showing potential in estimating the CLT layers’ structural integrity under different load levels along the
elastoplastic regime, even though it requires detailed mechanical characterization of wood as input data.