Dimensional Variations Monitoring of Radiata Pine CLT Panels: A Case Study in Concepcion, Chile

Abstract

Variations in wood moisture content lead to changes in virtually all physical and mechanical properties of timber. Besides, the damage to building elements is usually associated with unfavorable changes in material properties, support conditions, geometry, or load variations that can influence the structure's performance or durability. This research is oriented to monitoring the behavior of a CLT module prototype under the action of humidity, simulating the possible changes resulting from its use as a habitable space. With these field measurements, we study the dimensional variation of wall elements and moisture content in the structural panels in order to explore the possible behavior of the PymeLAB experimental building PymeLAB, a 5-story living laboratory that was installed on campus from the University of Bío-Bío during 2022. In this study, a prototype has been manufactured with conditioned 3-layer Radiata pine CLT panels with an initial moisture content of 11.6%. Dimensional changes caused by different humidification cycles were measured. The change in the moisture content of the internal face of the CLT panels exposed to the indoor climate showed increases in deformations of up to 1.74 mm/m.