Panel and plate properties of Cross-laminated timber (CLT) with tropical fast-growing timber species in compliance with Eurocode 5

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is widely regarded as an effective building material that increases productivity during construction and effectively stores carbon dioxide. Southeast Asia is home to some of the fastest-growing timber species worldwide. The feasibility of using fast-growing, tropical timber species for CLT is explored in this study. The timber species red jabon (A. macrophyllus - 9 years old), sengon (F. moluccana - 5 years old) and acacia hybrid (A. mangium x A. auriculiformis - 5 years old) were sourced from Indonesia, and the timber species Norway spruce (P. abies) was sourced from Latvia. 1C-PUR adhesive was used for the bonding and the CLT panels were produced and tested according to EN 16351:2015. It was found that F. moluccana panels exhibit a significantly lower bending stiffness than P. abies panels. However, it is found that if F. moluccana is used as the inner layer in combination with A. mangium x as the outer layer, the panels exceed the values of P. abies. Moreover, A. macrophyllus shows great potential to achieve CL24 strength class. If A. macrophyllus is combined with A. mangium x in the outer layers, higher strength classes than CL24 can be achieved. These results suggest that the fast-growing timber species used in this study have the potential to be successfully used for CLT and to ultimately supplement imported European P. abies CLT in Southeast Asia's construction. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.