Laboratory investigations of cross-laminated decks for bridge applications

Abstract

The use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) has gained popularity during the past decade in North America, with many advances stemming from completed research and construction projects located in other countries. In particular, CLT has been utilized in vertical construction projects where many of its inherent features have been maximized. Despite these advances, the use of CLT in bridge structures has been limited and CLT has not been adopted into governing bridge design codes. This paper reports the results and conclusions of the laboratory investigation of the feasibility of CLT as a primary structural material for highway bridge deck applications. Two common timber bridge superstructure systems are used in the United States: (1) longitudinal deck panels spanning the bridge abutments, and (2) transverse deck panels across the bridge width supported by longitudinal girders. The subject of this paper is the longitudinal CLT bridge deck system, which was tested under service loading to determine the structural behavior under static loading.

Citation

Dahlberg, Justin M.; Wacker, James P.; Rammer, Douglas R. 2023. Laboratory investigations of cross-laminated decks for bridge applications. In: Nyrud, A.Q.; Malo, K.A.; Nore, K., eds., Proceedings of the 13th World Conference on Timber Engineering. 19-22 June, 2023. Oslo, Norway. 244-250.