EXPERIMENTAL AND FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF IRISH SITKA SPRUCE CLT WALL PANELS UNDER EXPOSURE TO STANDARD FIRE CONDITIONS

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a sustainable engineered timber product. The fire behaviour of cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a significant concern due to its combustible nature. Currently, there is limited data available on the performance of charring of CLT panels made from C16 grade timber under fire. In this research, an experimental and numerical investigation of CLT floor panels exposed to a standard fire i.e., ISO 834 was performed. The CLT floor panels were manufactured from C16 grade Sitka spruce grown in Ireland. Overall, four CLT floor specimens were tested using standard heating conditions. The charring rate and temperature distribution at different depths from the fire-exposed face of the CLT panel were studied. The test panels were also protected with different protective claddings and the delay in charring of the CLT panel provided by these claddings is presented. Furthermore, a 2D finite element (FE) model was developed and the results from the FE model were compared with experimental results that show a good correlation in terms of the charring rates and temperature distributions.