Moment and shear capacity of Ply-lam composed with plywood and structural timber under out-of-plane bending

The aim of this study was to investigate the moment and shear capacity of Ply-lam which is composed with plywood and structural timber. The moment and shear capacity of Ply-lam were predicted by using prediction methodologies for typical cross-laminated timber (CLT). The predicted values by the methodologies were verified by comparison with measured capacities. Fifty-eight specimens of Ply-lam (five layers) were manufactured and half of the specimens were tested for bending (span-to-depth ratio (\(R_{\text{sd}} )\) was 25:1). The other specimens were tested for rolling shear (\(R_{\text{sd}}\) was 12:1) in accordance with EN 16351. The results show that typical prediction methods for structural properties of CLT can also be used to predict those of Ply-lam, since the measured values were higher than the predicted values. In rolling shear test, 52% specimens failed by bending at the bottom layer. This indicates that the rolling shear test method in EN 16351 was not suitable for Ply-lam because the typical CLT would be reinforced by replacing the cross layer with plywood. Thus, the span-to-depth ratio needs to be reduced for hybrid CLT like Ply-lam.