Full article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235271022502515X
The problem
To grow housing without growing emissions, the AEC sector must rapidly scale lower-carbon, high-performance materials such as mass timber. Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) has become a leading panelized option for mid- to high-rise buildings as codes in Canada and the U.S. expand allowable heights, and because CLT delivers lightweight, prefabricated, demountable systems with competitive economics at taller scales. Yet a critical bottleneck remains: Connections!
Unlike the largely elastic, semi-isotropic CLT panels, connections govern stiffness, strength, ductility, and damage concentration through nonlinear mechanisms across a wide variety of joinery types (mechanical fasteners, adhesive, and dowel-free integral forms). Today, evidence is fragmented across many studies with differing test setups and reporting styles, impeding performance-based engineering, design optimization, and the integration of digitally fabricated joinery. The field needs a common “language” and shared evidence base to compare connection behavior so designers can select resilient solutions with confidence.
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