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Anybody know how these stand up to earthquakes?
by lquist 7y ago
Anybody know how these stand up to earthquakes?
- josephpmay 7y agoThe answer is basically that they don't know at this point. (Reference: I did extensive research on CLT as part of a project in LA a few years ago and talked to CLT experts from the Wood Products Council) CLT is stiffer than plywood, and the construction techniques are closer to steel/concrete, so it'll likely need reinforcement or dampering. Traditional wood buildings these days are designed to flex in earthquakes. But it hasn't been extensively tested for seismic properties yet
- Merrill 7y agoIs the main difference between CLT and plywood that CLT is a crossed grain stack of sawn lumber instead of peeled veneers?
- josephpmay 7y agoI don't know a huge amount about the manufacturing of the materials, so I'm not sure. The binding material may also be different for CLT.
- coryrc 7y agoYes..ish. Because plain-sawn veneers also exists so plywood can be made the same way.
- edaemon 7y agoPretty much, CLT is basically plywood with very thick laminations.
- jcampbell1 7y agoTrue, but worth noting plywood is spiral shaved veneers which are unrolled glued with the curves counteracting This is quite different from sawn dimensional lumber. Plywood is entirely cut tangent to the grain / tree rings. Plywood is much weaker essentially because trees evolved to withstand wind and the veneers are cut perpendicular to wind loads.
- beat 7y agoAs I understand it, the modern trend for buildings that are concrete on the first floor and wood frame for 2-5 floors above that started with earthquake-resistant designs. So they can probably play on that model.
- josephpmay 7y agoThat's incorrect. The structural properties are completely different.
- mixedbit 7y agoMovies demonstrating how CLT building standup to earthquakes and fire: https://alexschreyer.net/engineering/much-abuse-can-cross-laminated-timber-clt-take/ https://alexschreyer.net/engineering/much-abuse-can-cross-la...