COMPARISON OF CALCULATIONS METHODS FOR CROSS LAMINATED TIMBER (CLT) ELEMENTS SUBMITTED TO BENDING

Abstract

Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) is a material little used today in Brazil, but with a good perspective in the near future. It is the bonding of at least three layers of wooden boards with the direction of their fibers perpendicular to each other (90°). Thus, the material has viable properties for use structurally, and can be used in place of more common materials in this area, such as steel, masonry and concrete There are countries where this technology is already used, such as Canada, the United States and Austria, and for this, standards have been created for its application and sizing. Based on the most common regulations, the CLT Handbook (United States) and Pro:Holz (Austria) are highlighted and were the basis for the study of this article. The studied bibliography presents different methods for sizing and consequently study of CLT flexion: the gamma method, K method and "shear analogy". Such methods take into account different aspects of the material, being different from each other. Even the gamma method being the most usual, it has less detail and may not be the closest to reality, unlike the "shear analogy", which in turn analyzes each part of the material under study, proving to be more effective.