Flexural behavior of LVL made from Australian radiata pine

Abstract

As a commonly used engineering wood in modern timber constructions, laminated veneer lumber (LVL), produced from small-diameter wood, short-dimension wood, or fast-growing wood, significantly enhances material properties to meet the mechanical and physical requirements in structural engineering. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of utilizing fast-growing Australian radiata pine to produce structural LVL, providing essential theoretical support for its application in civil engineering. The investigation focuses specifically on Australian radiata pine LVL (RP-LVL) and involves a systematic experimental study to assess the bending performance of RP-LVL under various bending directions and specimen sizes. The findings reveal that the edgewise bending strength of RP-LVL is comparatively lower than its flatwise bending strength. Nevertheless, RP-LVL exhibits superior bending strength compared to conventional glulam and dimensional lumber, rendering it an attractive and suitable building material for achieving enhanced bending performance in flexure members. Moreover, the study identifies significant influences of height and width on the bending strength of RP-LVL. Consequently, prediction method is proposed to calculate the bending strength of RP-LVL, considering these size influences. Importantly, the size influences on bending strength are quantified to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the bending capacity of RP-LVL flexure members.