Out-of-plane shear strength of cross-laminated timber made of Japanese Larch (Larix kaempferi) with various layups and spans

Abstract Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a promising construction material. When CLT is used for horizontal applications, shear stress occurs in the out-of-plane direction and can fracture the transverse layers owing to the rolling shear. The out-of-plane shear strength of the CLT can be evaluated by an out-of-plane loading test and is affected by the CLT layups and/or span conditions. In this study, we conducted out-of-plane loading tests on 3-layer 4-ply, 5-layer 7-ply, 7-layer 7-ply, and 9-layer 9-ply CLT made of Japanese larch ( Larix kaempferi ) under various spans and investigated the effect of layups and spans on the out-of-shear strength. The fracture modes of the specimens were classified into three types: shear fracture, shear fracture accompanied by bending fracture, and bending fracture. The out-of-plane shear strength of the specimens except for the 9-layer 9-ply ones decreased as the span increased, and then converged to a constant value (1.0–1.5 kN/mm 2 ). In addition, the shear strength decreased exponentially as the number of laminae in the transverse layers increased and then converged to a constant value (1.0–1.5 kN/mm 2 ). The out-of-plane shear strength of the 9-layer 9-ply specimens decreased as the shear span increased; however, the converged value with a longer span could not be calculated because the tests were conducted under only three-span conditions. The shear strength of 3-layer 4-ply specimens was lower than that of the other layups. The results of the Monte Carlo simulation of the shear strength of the laminae in the transverse layers showed that a model, which assumed that the minimum shear strength of the laminae in the transverse layers determined the shear strength of a specimen, tended to correspond with the decreasing tendency of shear strength with longer spans. The results showed that the weakest link model for the out-of-plane shear fracture of the CLT would relate to a specimen with long span.