THE DISTRIBUTION OF CONCENTRATED LOADS BY LAMINATED TIMBER SLABS

This bulletin presents results of an investigation of 119 laminated timber slabs tested at the University of Illinois, Engineering Experiment Station. Variables considered were type of fasteners, their location in the lamination, the span length, the number of laminations in the slab, the material used, the number of laminations to which the load was applied, and the effect of repeated loads. The principal focus of the study was devoted to the type and arrangement of fasteners. Test results were analyzed and compared on the basis of the effective number of laminations; that is, the number of laminations which, when considered as equally stressed, will produce the same maximum fiber stress as would be obtained if the actual load distribution among various laminations was considered. The conclusion was reached that the important factor in the distribution of concentrated loads among the laminations of a slab is type and arrangement of fasteners and that the wood species used is of little importance.