Layered beam theory for CLT structures under temperature and moisture loadings

The theory of layered beams (TLB) was developed over 80 years ago for the structural elastic analysis of wooden beams assembled with nails and screws. Recently, it has been demonstrated that TLB is also suitable for the analysis of cross-laminated timber (CLT) beams under out-of-plane and in-plane loading. In this paper, the history of TLB is briefly outlined, and the theory is applied to the analysis of CLT beams under moisture and temperature loadings. When adopting TLB, it is possible to derive analytical solutions for simple structures, and exact finite element formulations are available for more complex cases. In this paper, TLB is used for CLT beam analysis under moisture and temperature actions, and new analytical solutions are derived. It can be concluded from the findings presented in the paper that TLB provides a sound and systematic basis for the structural analysis of CLT beams.