Viability of cross-laminated timber from UK resources

Crawford, David; Smith, Simon; Hairstans, Robert; Papastavrou, Panayiotis

Abstract

Cross-laminated timber is an innovative engineered timber product that can be used for almost all superstructure elements. It is typically produced from kiln-dried, fast-growing softwood timber. Currently there is no commercial production in the UK and hence the majority of cross-laminated timber used within the UK construction industry is manufactured in central mainland Europe and imported. This paper presents the key factors required for implementing a cross-laminated timber production and construction capability using available UK timber resource, thus offering a sustainable alternative to multi-storey steel and concrete construction. Further to this the structural performance of a cross-laminated timber product manufactured using a home-grown resource is compared with the current product imported from Europe. A series of standard design scenarios for multi-storey residential and education buildings in the UK have been considered and the structural design criteria reviewed for both products.

Citation

Crawford, D., Smith, S., Hairstans, R., & Papastavrou, P. (2015). Viability of cross-laminated timber from UK resources. Proceedings of the ICE - Construction Materials, 168(3), 110-120. https://doi.org/10.1680/coma.14.00064

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 9, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Sep 1, 2015
• Publication Date: 2015-06
• Deposit Date: Aug 8, 2016
• Journal: Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Construction Materials
• Print ISSN: 1747-650X
• Electronic ISSN: 1747-6518
• Publisher: ICE Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 168
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 110-120
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1680/coma.14.00064
• Keywords: materials technology ; research & development ; timber structures
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/9961
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/coma.14.00064