EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF COASTAL DETERIORATION ON STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF CROSS-LAMINATED TIMBER

Cross-laminated Timber (CLT) is a sustainable building Mass Timber (MT) material made of a biological origin; wood. Since its introduction to North America, the biological durability of the material has been challenged due to the lack of investigation in different climates and deterioration zones. Almost all parts of the Pacific Northwest and most parts of the North Eastern regions of the United States have a high (4 out of 5) coastal deterioration zoning for wooden materials. Therefore, studying the effects of coastal deterioration such as salt-spray effects on the MT products' properties would provide helpful information and job-site measures for using these products. This work investigates the coastal deterioration of MT by measuring the effect of continuous salt spray exposure on the dimensional and mechanical properties of CLT panel samples with and without any industry-standard coating. The CLT specimens' initial density, dimensions, and bending stiffness are compared with the ones acquired after being tested and exposed to the continuous salt spray and controlled simulated moisture content, humidity, and temperature for two weeks. This work presents preliminary predictions for how much CLT deterioration and mass loss due to exposure to coastal salt spray could result in loss of mechanical properties.