COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE STRENGTHS OF SOLID AND GLUED LAMINATED TIMBER

📄 Project Abstract

Timber isa construction material with unparalleledenvironmental credential. Howbeit, limitations of span and crossectional dimension, strength reducing defects and anisotropy limits its engineering application. Mechanical methods of jointing to address the earlier challenge has introduced serious wood fiber failure and increased the embodied energy in timber as a green material. However, developed societies have established in literature the possibility of overcoming these limitations to utilize timber beyond the traditional application in Nigeria being glueable for developing engineered wood products like glued laminated timber (glulam) using their timber species. Conversely, while little or no interest is shown in timber as a structural material in Nigeria, many of the few researches in timber have focused on solid timber elements leaving its limitations unattended. Consequently, its structural capabilities is yet unappreciated. Nevertheless, the fact remains that reconstituting natu...