Timber Engineering Notebook series. No. 11: Cross-laminated timber construction – an introduction

The ‘Wood and Armer’ equations are well established as a means of accounting for torsional moments in bridge slabs. In this article, a potential source of misinterpretation of the original equations is identified and corrected. The misinterpretation is shown not to have significant implications for design, but may be of consequence where the Wood and Armer equations have been used for assessment. A number of other inconsistencies are identified and a revised set of equations is proposed.

This Timber Engineering Notebook introduces the checks for overall building stability and those required for the wall diaphragms which provide shear (or racking) resistance to a platform timber frame structure.

Combinations of timber or laminated sections with different materials such as wood-based boards or metal elements are used to create ‘engineered wood products’ (EWPs) whose maximum size is limited only by manufacturing, handling and transportation constraints. Different types of EWP are described here, in addition to timber structural systems and their structural applications.