Chapter 5 Structural Glued Laminated Timber

5.1 Introduction

However, the cross- sectional dimensions and lengths of these members are limited by the size of the trees
available to produce this type of lumber.

When the span becomes long or when the loads become large, the use of sawn lumber may become
impractical. In these circumstances (and possibly for architectural reasons), structural glued laminated
timber (glulam) can be used.

Glulam members are fabricated from relatively thin laminations (nominal 1 and 2 in.) of wood. These
laminations can be end-jointed and glued together in such a way to produce wood members of practically any
size and length.

5.2 Sizes of Glulam Members

The generally accepted dimensions for glulams fabricated from the Western Species are slightly different
from those for Southern Pine glulams as given in NDS Table 5.1.3

Straight or slightly curved glulams will be fabricated with 11/2-in. (or 13/8-in.) laminations. If a member is
sharply curved, thinner (3/4-in. or less) laminations should be used in the fabrication because smaller built-
in, or residual, stresses will result. These thinner laminations are not used for straight or slightly curved
glulams because cost is heavily influenced by the number of glue lines in a member.

Section properties include

1. Cross-sectional area A (in.2)

2. Moment of inertia about the strong axis Ix (in.4)

3. Section modulus about the strong axis Sx (in.3)

4. Radius of gyration about the strong axis rx (in.)

5. Moment of inertia about the weak axis Iy (in.4)

6. Section modulus about the weak axis Sy (in.3)

7. Radius of gyration about the weak axis ry (in.)

For glulams, the x and y orientation is actu- ally related to the orientation of the laminations, not the strong
and weak axes of the section.

5.3 Resawn Glulam

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Glulams that are 2 /2 in. wide are obtained by ripping a glulam manufactured from nominal 2 x 6 laminations
into two pieces. The relatively narrow beams that are produced in this way are known as resawn glulams.

The resawing of a glulam to produce two narrower members introduces some additional manufacturing
controls that are not required in the production of a normal-width member which is not going to be resawn.

Resawn glulams are used as an alternative to certain sizes of sawn lumber. They also provide an alternative to
wood I-joists in some applications. Resawn beams are normally used where appearance is not a major
concern.

5.4 Fabrication of Glulams

Specifications and guidelines covering the design and fabrication of glulam members (Refs. 5.4, 5.8, 5.10,
5.11), are published by the American Institute of Timber Construction (AITC) and Engineered Wood Systems
(EWS), a related corporation of APA—The Engineered Wood Association.

The reason that the structural properties for glulam are so high is that the material included in the member
can be selected from relatively high-quality laminating stock. The growth characteristics that limit the
structural capacity of a large solid sawn wood member can simply be excluded in the fabrication of a glulam
member.

In addition, laminating optimizes material use by dispersing the strength- reducing defects in the laminating
material throughout the member.

The different grades of laminations over the depth of the cross section really make a glulam a composite
beam.

However, from a designer’s point of view, a glulam beam can be treated as a homogeneous material with a
rectangular cross section.

Glulam beams are usually loaded in bending about the strong axis of the cross section. Large section
properties and the distribution of laminations over the depth of the cross section make this an efficient use of
materials.

Loading about the minor axis is also possible, but it is much less common. One common example of glulam
beams loaded about the minor axis is bridge decks.

Traditionally, two types of glue have been permitted in the fabrication of glulam members: (1) dry-use
adhesives (casein glue) and (2) wet-use adhesives

Although one should be aware of the basic fabrication procedures and concepts outlined in this section, the
building designer does not have to be concerned about designing the individual laminations, splices, and so
on.

Some of the items in the grade stamp include

1. Quality control agency (e.g., American Institute of Timber Construction or Engineered Wood
Systems)
2. Structural use (possible symbols: B, simple span bending member; C, com- pression member; T,
tension member; and CB, continuous or cantilever bending member)
 3. Appearance grade (FRAMING, framing; IND, industrial; ARCH, architectural; PREM, premium)
4. Plant or mill number (e.g., 143 and 0000 shown)
5. Standardforstructuralgluedlaminatedtimber(i.e.,ANSI/AITCA190.1-2002)

5.5 Grades of Glulam Members

For strength, grades of glulam members traditionally have been given as combinations of laminations. The
two main types are bending combinations and axial combinations.

The Stress Class System is recommended by the glulam industry for specifying beams, as it will greatly benefit
designers and manufactures alike.

With the Stress Class System, the number of tabulated values has been reduced to simplify things for the
designer.

One of the four appearance grades (framing, industrial, architectural, and premium) should be specified along
with the strength requirements to ensure that the member furnished is appropriate for the intended use.

Members that are stressed principally in bending and loaded in the normal manner (i.e., with the applied load
perpendicular to the wide faces of the laminations) are produced from the bending combinations. Bending
combinations are defined by a combination symbol and the species of the laminating stock.

Two basic abbreviations are used in defining the combinations: one is for visually graded laminating stock
(e.g., 24F-V3), and the other is for laminating stock that is mechanically graded, or E-rated, for stiffness (e.g.,
22F-E5).

In addition to the combination symbol, the species of wood is required to define the grade. The symbols for
the species are DF for Douglas Fir-Larch, DFS for Douglas Fir South, HF for Hem-Fir, SW for softwoods,∗and
SP for Southern Pine.

If more than one species of wood is used in a member, both species are specified.

Softwood bending combinations with similar properties are now grouped into stress classes. All of the design
values in a higher stress class equal or exceed those from a lower stress class. This allows designers and
manufacturers the ability to substitute higher grades based on availability.

For loading about the x axis, two values of Fbx are listed. The first value represents the more efficient use of a
glulam, and consequently it is the more frequently used value in design. F + indicates that the high-quality
tension bx laminations are stressed in tension (i.e., tension zone stressed in tension).

Five values of modulus of elasticity are given in Tables 5A and 5A Expanded: Ex, Ex min, Ey, Ey min, and Eaxial.
Values of Ex and Ey are for use in beam deflection calculations about the x and y axes, respectively. Values of Ex
min and Ey min are used in stability calculations for columns and laterally unbraced beams. On the other hand,
Eaxial is used for deformation calculations in members subjected to axial loads, such as the shortening of a
column or the elongation of a tension member.

Two design values for compression perpendicular to grain Fc􏰥x are listed in NDS Table 5A Expanded.
Design values listed in NDS Table 5B are for axial combinations of glulams, and therefore the properties for
axial loading are given first in the table.

Design values for hardwood glulam members are provided in Tables 5C and 5D of the NDS Supplement.

5.6 Adjustment Factors for Glulam

The basic system involves the determination of adjusted design values by multiplying the reference design
values by a series of adjustment factors.

Fr’ =F X (product of C factors)

However, glulams are a wood product, and they are subject to many of the adjustments described in Chap. 4
for sawn lumber. Some of the adjustment factors are numerically the same for glulam and sawn lumber, and
others are different.

Wet service factor (CM)

Reference design values for glulam are for dry conditions of service. For glulam, dry is defined as MC < 16
percent.

Load duration factor (CD)—ASD only

Reference design values for glulam are for normal duration of load. Normal duration is defined as 10 years
and is associated with floor live loads.

Time effect factor ( )—LRFD only

Similar to the load duration factor for ASD, the time effect factor 􏰥 is used in LRFD to adjust nominal design
values for the expected duration of loading.

Temperature factor (Ct)

Reference design values for glulam are for use at normal temperatures. Section 4.20 discussed adjustment
factors for other temperature ranges.

Flat-use factor (Cfu)

The flat-use factor is somewhat different for sawn lumber and for glulam. For sawn lumber, tabulated values
for Fb apply to bending about the x axis.

On the other hand, glulam members have tabulated bending values for both the x and y axes (that is, Fbx and
Fby are both listed). When the depth of the member for bending about the y axis (i.e., the cross-sectional
dimension parallel to the wide faces of the laminations) is less then 12 in., the tabulated value of Fby may be
increased by multiplying by Cfu.

Volume factor (Cv)

It has been noted that the reference design values in a wood member is affected by the relative size of the
member. This general behavior is termed size effect. In sawn lumber, the size effect is taken into account by
the size factor CF.

Therefore, the volume factor CV replaces the size factor CF for use in glulam design. Note that CV applies only to
bending stress. Reference values of Fb apply to a standard-size glulam beam with the following base
1
dimensions: width = 5 /8 in., depth = 12 in., length = 21 ft.

Resistance factor ()—LRFD only

In LRFD a resistance factor , sometimes also referred to as a strength reduction factor, is used to allow for the
possibility that the resistance may be less than computed.

Format conversion factor (KF)—LRFD only

Reference design values for glulam are for direct use in ASD for normal duration of load. For LRFD, the
reference design values must be converted to nominal design values using the format conversion factor KF.

5.7 Design Problem: Adjusted Design Values

The adjusted design values for a glulam member are evaluated in Examples 5.4 and 5.5 for ASD and LRFD,
respectively.