Investigation on Failure Behavior of Mixed-Species Glued Laminated Timber Beams

The reported research aims to provide means to improve the performances of timber structures, particularly when brittle behavior of timber elements can represent an obstacle in adopting timber structures. Several technological approach solutions are under investigation within the frame of a three-year national research project: the first solution analyzed is the mixed glulam beam manufactured coupling laminations of different wood species, featuring a better performance as far the global ductile behavior is concerned. A numerical iterative approach has been adopted to determine the moment-curvature relationship in the plastic field up to failure. The tests performed so far confirm the expected behavior on the basis of the numerical analysis.