Materials and Design 30 (2009) 698703

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Materials and Design

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Effect of re exposure on the mechanical properties of glued laminated timber

Te-Hsin Yang a, Song-Yung Wang a, Ming-Jer Tsai a,*, Ching-Yuan Lin b, Ying-Ji Chuang b
a
School of Forestry and Resource Conservation, College of Bio-resources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
b
Department of Architecture, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of re exposure on the mechanical properties of
Received 21 February 2008 glued laminated timbers (glulams) made from ve softwood species as determined by a standard re test
Accepted 12 May 2008 (CNS12514). The results indicated that the static bending properties of glulam decreased with an increas-
Available online 17 May 2008
ing re exposure time. After re exposure tests, the retention rates of MOE (modulus of elasticity) and
MOR (modulus of rupture) of all tested glulams were 61.092.7% and 42.075.9%, respectively. Compared
Keywords: to the control specimens without re exposure, the compression strength and the shear strength of tested
A. natural materials
glulams after re exposure did not show any signicant difference.
D. bonding
G. destructive testing
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction the temperature at which failure occurs in the cohesion between

Among the properties of glulam (glued laminated timber) as
an engineered wood product, re resistance is important for re
safety. In general, wood products with larger cross-sections
have greater ame retardancy. However, re reduces the extent
of the cross-section as well as the mechanical properties of the
heated glulam in proximity to the char line. The remaining
uncharred lumber supplies the load-carrying capability [1]. For
glulam utilization in architectural design, it is thus very important
to know the mechanical properties of glulam members exposed to
re.
Numerous studies on the structural re design of wood have
been carried out for heavy timber and glulam construction [2,3].
Charring rates were found to be the dominant factor for perfor-
mance of the structural heavy timber during exposure to re. To
assess safety characteristics, variability in re endurance should
be taken into account through consideration of variability in the
properties of the member (e.g., charring rate, strength, and stiff-
ness), variability in anticipated applied load, and variability in re
severity [2]. For members stressed by bending during re expo-
sure, failure occurs when maximum bending capacity is exceeded
due to the reduction of section modulus, and also when the ele-
vated temperature causes the subsequent loss in strength of the
member [4]. Furthermore, for assessing re endurance in the de-
sign of glued laminated elements, it is important to know the rate
at which bond strength is lost with increasing temperature, and
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 2 33664641; fax: +886 2 23686335.
E-mail address: tmj@ntu.edu.tw (M.-J. Tsai).
adhesive and timber [5].
Researchers have also pointed out that compression strength
decreases with increasing temperature. Kundson and Schniewind
[6] proposed a linear model (P = (106  0.29T)%, where P is the
retention rate of compression strength and T is the temperature)
when the temperature ranged from 20 to 288 C. However, Konig
and Walleij [7] proposed two linear equations to predict the reten-
tion rate of compression strength for two temperature intervals,
namely P = (118.8  0.9375T)% for 20 C 6 T 6 100 C and P =
(37.5  0.125T)% for 100 C 6 T 6 300 C, respectively. Further-
more, Young and Clancy [8] proposed four linear equations to pre-
dict the retention rate of compression strength for four
temperature intervals, namely P = (115  0.75T)% for 20 C 6 T <
100 C, P = (760 + 8T)% for 100 C 6 T < 110 C, P = (1168.9 
0.444T)% for 110 C 6 T < 200 C, and P = (240  0.8T)% for
200 C 6 T 6 250 C, respectively. For better prediction of retention
rate of compression strength, Zeeland et al. [9] proposed two linear
equations after review of the above-mentioned studies, namely
P = (115  0.75T)% for 20 C 6 T < 100 C, and P = (60  0.20T)% for
100 C 6 T 6 300 C, respectively.
In our previous study [10,11], the temperature distribution
within the glulam, the charring depth, and the charring rate of
the glulam during re exposure were investigated. The purpose
of the study presented here was to investigate the effect of re
exposure on the mechanical properties of glulams made from ve
softwood species as determined by a standard re test (CNS12514).
The bending properties, compression strength, and shear strength
of tested glulams were measured after a standard re exposure
test. These results can provide information for assessing the appli-
cability of glulams in architectural design.

0261-3069/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2008.05.022
 T.-H. Yang et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 698703 699

2. Materials and methods
2.1. Tested glulams
Five softwoods (average moisture content: 11.912.1%), com-
monly used as building materials in Taiwan, including: Japanese
cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), Taiwania (Taiwania cryptomerioides),
China r (Cunninghamia lanceolata), Douglas r (Pseudotsuga men-
ziesii), and Southern pine (Pinus spp.), were selected for this study.
Two different lumber (lamina) dimensions were tested as well
38 mm (thickness)  190 mm (width)  1800 mm (length) and
38 mm (thickness)  140 mm (width)  1800 mm (length). Each
glulam was made of seven laminae (Fig. 1a). During manufacture,
resorcinol resin adhesive (RF) was applied at the rate of 0.250 kg/
m2 and at the pressure of 0.98 MPa using the radio frequency
method. The re properties of glulams (8F group) with a cross-sec-
tion of 266 mm (height)  190 mm (width) were assessed with
30 min, 45 min, and 60 min re exposure tests, and the glulams

Unit:mm

St
Rotation 90
nd

rd

266 th

Glue line Glue line

th

th 5

30
140 or 190 60
30

30 5 25

30 15 15

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 1. (a) Tested glulam (6F group, glulam with a cross-section of 266 mm (height)  140 mm (width); 8F group, glulam with a cross-section of 266 mm (height)  190 mm
(width)), (b) specimen for compression test, and (c) specimen for shear test.

Table 1
Bending strengths of ve softwood glulams after re exposure tests

Wood species of glulam Sample groupa Glulam density Fire exposure time (min) MOEb (GPa) MOE retention rate (%) MORb (MPa) MOR retention rate (%)
(kg/m3)
China r Control 407 0 4.1 (0.1) 48.2 (5.6)
6F 398 30 3.1 (0.6) 75.6 29.9 (2.2) 62.0
6F 414 45 3.0 (0.5) 73.2 27.1 (3.8) 56.2
8F 399 30 3.8 (0.1) 92.7 36.6 (1.0) 75.9
8F 411 45 3.3 (0.2) 80.5 33.9 (0.2) 70.3
8F 412 60 2.5 (0.3) 61.0 27.3 (2.1) 56.6
Japanese cedar Control 452 0 5.3 (0.3) 54.8 (0.3)
6F 450 30 4.3 (0.4) 81.1 35.7 (2.4) 65.1
6F 454 45 3.8 (0.2) 71.7 25.7 (8.2) 46.9
8F 445 30 4.6 (0.6) 86.8 39.4 (3.1) 71.9
8F 444 45 4.0 (0.3) 75.5 32.3 (3.3) 58.9
8F 464 60 3.7 (0.8) 69.8 23.0 (2.5) 42.0
Taiwania Control 420 0 5.3 (0.4) 51.4 (3.7)
6F 408 30 4.0 (0.7) 75.5 26.7 (8.8) 51.9
6F 427 45 3.4 (0.4) 64.2 26.6 (10.4) 51.8
8F 420 30 4.7 (0.1) 88.7 38.6 (0.6) 75.1
8F 437 45 3.9 (0.2) 73.6 32.9 (2.1) 64.0
8F 408 60 3.8 (0.9) 71.7 21.8 (9.0) 42.4
Douglas r Control 503 0 7.7 (0.5) 62.7 (3.5)
6F 501 30 6.9 (0.4) 89.6 40.8 (5.0) 65.1
6F 506 45 6.8 (0.7) 88.3 35.9 (4.4) 57.3
8F 531 60 6.6 (0.5) 85.7 33.2 (1.0) 53.0
Southern pine Control 530 0 6.0 (0.4) 58.9 (7.6)
6F 524 30 5.3 (0.3) 88.3 42.1 (1.2) 71.5
6F 535 45 5.3 (0.5) 88.3 37.7 (5.4) 64.0
8F 538 60 4.4 (0.1) 73.3 26.4 (3.6) 44.8
a
6F, glulam with a cross-section of 266 mm (height)  140 mm (width); 8F, glulam with a cross-section of 266 mm (height)  190 mm (width).
b
Values in parentheses represent the standard deviation.
700 T.-H. Yang et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 698703

(6F group) with a cross-section of 266 mm (height)  140 mm 2.3. Mechanical properties of tested glulams exposed to re
(width) were assessed with 30 min and 45 min of re exposure tests.
The glulam specimens were conditioned in a controlled environ- In order to evaluate the effect of re exposure on the mechani-
ment room at 20 3 C and 65 5% relative humidity for ve weeks cal properties of glulams in our study, a bending test, compression
(so that the specimens had an average moisture content of about test, and shear test were carried out. After abrading the charred
12%) before they were removed for testing. The data set consisted layers and measuring the thickness and width of tested glulams,
of ve replicates for ve species under each re exposure test. a central concentration-loading static bending test was conducted
in accordance with CNS 11033 [13]. In these tests, the average
2.2. Fire exposure tests loading speed was not allowed to exceed 1470 N/min. The span
was 1800 mm. The MOE (modulus of elasticity) and MOR (modulus
The glulam beam member was tested in a laboratory-scale of rupture) could be expressed as follows:
exposure furnace in accordance with CNS 12514 [12]. The labora-
tory-scale furnace was a modication of a full-scale furnace de- DPL3
MOE 3
1
signed to test the structural elements of buildings with a 4dbh
minimum sample size of 900 mm. The glulam was held in a steel
holder and set in a vertical position. The glulam was exposed on 3PL
MOR 2
; 2
three sides (bottom and two lateral sides) to re from propane 2bh
gas. The heating temperature inside the furnace was controlled
by adjusting the amount of gas and air, following the timetemper- where 4P (N) is the difference of the upper limit of loading and the
ature curve as required by the standard. After 5, 10, 30, 45, and lower limit of loading in the proportional limit region, d (mm) is the
60 min heating, the heating temperatures inside the furnace were deection with respect to 4P, L (mm) is span, b (mm) is the width of
540, 705, 840, 895, and 925 C, respectively. the glulam, h (mm) is the height of the glulam, and P (N) is the max-
The glulam specimens were cooled naturally inside the furnace imum loading.
to room temperature. They were then moved out from the furnace The MOR and MOE retention rates were evaluated from the fol-
and the charred layers were abraded. lowing formulae:

100 100
MOE retention rate (%)

MOR retention rate (%)

80 80

60 60
y = 0.6582x+40.103
40 2 40
R =0 .4984
20 20 y = 0.9313x + 4.5898
2
R = 0.7421
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Section area retention rate (%) Section area retention rate(%)

100
100
MOE retention rate (%)

MOR retention rate (%)

80
80

60 60

40 y = 0.6163x + 46.565 40
2
R = 0.5017 y = 0.8622x + 14.249
20 20 2
R = 0.7302

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Section modulus retention rate(%) Section modulus retention rate (%)

100 100
MOE retention rate (%)

MOR retention rate (%)

80 80

60 60

40 y = 0.5918x + 51.227 40
2
R = 0.501
20 20 y = 0.8214x + 21.079
2
R = 0.7177
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 0
I value (moment of inertia) retention rate (%) 0 20 40 60 80 100
I value (moment of inertia) retention rate (%)

Fig. 2. Relationship between (a) MOE retention rate and section area retention rate, (b) MOR retention rate and section area retention rate, (c) MOE retention rate and section
modulus retention rate, (d) MOR retention rate and section modulus retention rate, (e) MOE retention rate and I value (moment of inertia) retention rate, and (f) MOR
retention rate and I value (moment of inertia) retention rate. MOE retention rate, see formula (4); MOR retention rate, see formula (3); section area retention rate, residual
section area (b  h, b, and h represent the width and height) of glulam after re exposure/section area of glulam before re exposure; section modulus retention rate, residual
section modulus (b  h2/6) of glulam after re exposure/section modulus of glulam before re exposure; I value (moment of inertia) retention rate, residual moment of inertia
(b  h3/6) of glulam after re exposure/moment of inertia of glulam before re exposure.
 T.-H. Yang et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 698703 701

MOR2
MOR retention rate  100%;
MOR1
MOE2
MOE retention rate  100%;
MOE1
where MOR1, MOE1, MOR2, and MOE2 represent the MOR and MOE
values of the tested glulam without re exposure and after re
exposure, respectively.
For the compression tests, the central section of the glulam was
rst divided into ve parts according to the height of glulam and
then sliced into specimens with dimensions of 30-mm-
thick  30-mm-wide  60-mm-long (Fig. 1b). Each specimen in-
cluded a glue line and its position in the glulam was recorded.
The compression tests, parallel to the grain, were performed, in
accordance with CNS 453 [14], by a Shimadzu (Japan) UH-10A uni-
versal-type testing machine. Here, the specimen is supported near
the butt and tip, and a load is applied at the ground line by the
moving head of the mechanical testing machine. The average load-
ing speed is 9.80 N/mm2 per minute. All deection curves were ob-
tained from the compression test, and then the ultimate
compressive strengths parallel to the grain (rc) were calculated
from the ultimate load as follows:
P the top (compression side) and bottom sides (tension side) in order
rc ; 5
bh
where P (N) is the compressive loading, b (mm) is the width of the
glulam, and h (mm) is the height of the glulam.
The shear strength was determined using eight conditioned
specimens from two ends of each tested glulam according to CNS
11033 [13]. The specimen dimensions for the shear tests were
shown in Fig. 1c. Shear test apparatus with the loading axis parallel
to shear surface were used. The average loading speed was about
9800 N/min. The load at the specimen rupture was between 15%
3
and 85% of the capacity of the test machine. The shear strength
was calculated by the following formula:
4 P
Shear strength ; 6
A
where P (N) is the rupture load, and A (mm2) is the area of bonding
layer.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Bending properties of glulam after re exposure
Table 1 demonstrates the bending properties of ve softwood
glulams after re exposure tests. MOR and MOE values decreased
with an increasing re exposure time. After the re exposure tests,
the values of MOR of all tested glulams ranged from 48.262.7
(control groups) to 21.842.1 MPa (re exposure groups); whereas,
the values of MOE of all tested glulams ranged from 4.17.7 (con-
trol groups) to 2.56.9 GPa (re exposure groups). The results indi-
cated that the retention rates of MOE and MOR of all tested
glulams in our study were 61.092.7% and 42.075.9%, respec-
tively. This is because higher strength laminae were placed on
to manufacture a grade of structural glulam with higher strength
properties in our previous study [15]. This conguration of laminae
resulted in lower retention rates of MOE and MOR because the bot-
tom side (the side with the most importance for strength) was ex-
posed to the re rst and then the two lateral sides during
CNS12514 re exposure test.
The relationships between the MOE (MOR) retention rate and
the section area (section modulus, moment of inertia) retention
rate (calculated from residual width and height of glulam after re

Table 2
Compression strengths parallel to grain of ve softwood glulams after re exposure tests
c
Wood species of Sample Fire exposure time Compression strength parallel to grain (MPa)
glulam groupb (min)
1st layer 2nd layer 3rd layer 4th layer 5th layer 6th layer
a a a a a
China r Control 0 32.2 (1.2) 32.1 (0.4) 32.7 (0.1) 32.7 (1.3) 32.3 (0.8) 33.6 (0.2)
a a a a a
6F 30 33.4 (1.0) 30.0 (0.6) 29.8 (1.8) 30.5 (1.1) 32.6 (1.3)
a a a a a
6F 45 33.5 (2.6) 29.0 (4.6) 28.8 (1.5) 31.9 (2.0) 32.3 (2.2)
a a a a a
8F 30 33.7 (1.1) 32.7 (0.9) 30.6 (0.6) 31.2 (1.1) 33.9 (0.3)
a a a a a
8F 45 31.5 (2.0) 29.9 (0.4) 29.4 (1.0) 32.3 (1.7) 35.4 (0.8)
a a a
8F 60 34.2 (1.7) 29.7 (0.4) 30.7 (0.9)
a a a a a
Japanese cedar Control 0 35.2 (1.5) 33.5 (1.1) 33.0 (0.9) 33.2 (0.9) 35.0 (1.1) 38.8 (0.7)
a a a a a
6F 30 33.7 (0.6) 32.3 (0.3) 32.2 (1.0) 35.3 (2.8) 37.3 (2.6)
a a a a
6F 45 33.7 (0.8) 32.1 (0.4) 31.1 (0.3) 29.6 (1.0)
a a a a a
8F 30 33.0 (0.8) 33.0 (1.0) 34.2 (1.1) 33.4 (0.5) 31.8 (1.4)
a a a a
8F 45 34.5 (0.9) 32.3 (0.6) 36.1 (0.8) 34.9 (1.2)
a a a
8F 60 32.6 (0.6) 30.3 (2.3) 33.4 (3.5)

a a a a a
Taiwania Control 0 36.5 (1.1) 35.5 (0.3) 35.0 (0.9) 34.3 (1.0) 39.0 (0.4) 41.0 (1.0)
a a a a a
6F 30 35.4 (0.6) 34.8 (1.2) 34.8 (1.8) 35.4 (1.5) 41.9 (1.1)
a a a
6F 45 34.6 (1.1) 33.5 (2.0) 33.6 (3.1)
a a a a a
8F 30 35.9 (0.7) 32.9 (0.8) 31.3 (1.0) 33.2 (1.4) 40.5 (0.3)
a a a a
8F 45 34.7 (0.7) 33.0 (0.8) 33.0 (0.7) 33.8 (0.9)
a a a
8F 60 33.1 (0.8) 32.6 (0.5) 36.2 (1.8)
a a a
Douglas r Control 0 39.3 (1.0) 39.2 (1.1) 38.0 (0.9) 38.6 (0.7) 39.8 (0.3) 42.7 (0.5)
a a a
6F 30 39.3 (0.5) 40.0 (1.9) 39.1 (0.7)
a a a
6F 45 42.9 (0.7) 40.5 (1.5) 39.4 (4.0)
a a a
8F 60 40.1 (0.9) 39.6 (1.1) 43.7 (0.8)
a a a a
Southern pine Control 0 34.3 (1.0) 34.2 (1.1) 33.0 (0.9) 33.6 (0.7) 34.8 (0.3) 37.7 (0.5)
a a a a
6F 30 32.3 (0.4) 34.3 (0.2) 34.8 (0.4) 32.8 (0.8)
a a a a
6F 45 33.8 (0.9) 32.4 (0.7) 34.3 (0.7) 37.6 (1.6)
a a a
8F 60 33.6 (4.7) 33.3 (1.6) 31.6 (0.9)
b
6F, glulam with a cross-section of 266 mm (height)  140 mm (width); 8F, glulam with a cross-section of 266 mm (height)  190 mm (width).
c
Means (sufx a) within a given column (the same glulam species) with the same letter do not signicantly (p = 0.05) differ as determined by Tukey test; values in
parentheses represent the standard deviation.
702 T.-H. Yang et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 698703

Table 3
Shear strengths of ve softwood glulams after re exposure tests

Wood species of glulam Sample groupc Fire exposure time (min) Shear strength (MPa)d
1st layer 2nd layer 3rd layer 4th layer 5th layer 6th layer
a a a a a
China r Control 0 7.5 (0.4) 7.3 (0.2) 6.7 (0.2) 6.9 (0.2) 7.0 (0.3) 7.3 (0.2)
a a a a a
6F 30 7.5 (0.2) 7.5 (0.8) 6.4 (0.5) 6.8 (0.3) 6.4 (0.1)
a a a a b
6F 45 6.6 (0.7) 6.8 (0.4) 6.3 (0.8) 6.1 (0.5) 4.5 (0.3)
a a a a a
8F 30 7.6 (0.1) 7.5 (0.5) 6.8 (0.6) 6.5 (0.5) 6.4 (0.5)
a a a a a
8F 45 7.2 (0.4) 6.1 (0.4) 5.9 (0.5) 6.3 (0.3) 6.7 (0.8)
a a a
8F 60 7.2 (0.6) 7.1 (0.5) 6.7 (0.4)
a a a a a
Japanese cedar Control 0 8.2 (0.2) 8.2 (0.1) 8.3 (0.2) 8.4 (0.3) 8.5 (0.6) 8.6 (0.4)
a a a a a
6F 30 7.9 (0.4) 8.3 (0.3) 8.3 (0.3) 8.2 (0.6) 7.0 (0.5)
a a a a
6F 45 7.6 (0.4) 8.4 (0.6) 8.1 (0.9) 6.4 (0.9)
a a a a a
8F 30 7.4 (0.5) 7.3 (0.5) 8.2 (0.2) 7.9 (0.2) 6.6 (0.6)
a a a a
8F 45 7.5 (0.5) 7.5 (0.1) 7.9 (0.2) 8.0 (0.5)
a a a
8F 60 8.0 (0.2) 7.9 (0.2) 8.7 (0.4)
a a a a a
Taiwania Control 0 7.5 (0.1) 7.4 (0.3) 7.4 (0.6) 7.5 (0.2) 7.7 (0.8) 7.9 (0.3)
a a a a a
6F 30 7.4 (0.3) 7.4 (0.6) 7.6 (0.4) 7.3 (0.1) 7.3 (0.3)
a a a
6F 45 7.3 (0.2) 7.3 (0.2) 7.3 (0.2)
a a a a a
8F 30 7.3 (0.2) 7.1 (0.3) 7.4 (0.1) 7.5 (0.4) 7.6 (0.2)
a a a a
8F 45 7.2 (0.1) 7.1 (0.3) 7.3 (0.2) 7.1 (0.4)
a a a
8F 60 7.1 (0.2) 7.1 (0.2) 7.2 (0.7)
a a a a
Douglas r Control 0 9.3 (0.2) 9.0 (0.4) 8.5 (0.2) 8.7 (0.3) 8.8 (0.4) 9.0 (0.2)
a a a a
6F 30 9.4 (0.4) 9.2 (0.6) 8.2 (0.5) 8.6 (0.3)
a a a
6F 45 9.6 (0.2) 9.8 (0.5) 8.7 (0.1)
a a a
8F 60 8.9 (0.3) 9.0 (0.2) 8.6 (0.5)
a a a a
Southern pine Control 0 8.0 (0.3) 7.8 (0.4) 7.7 (0.3) 7.7 (0.4) 8.1 (0.3) 8.3 (0.2)
a a a a
6F 30 7.6 (0.1) 7.5 (0.1) 7.6 (0.3) 7.6 (0.3)
a a a a
6F 45 7.5 (0.1) 7.7 (0.3) 7.7 (0.3) 8.4 (0.4)
a a a a
8F 60 7.5 (0.5) 7.5 (0.4) 7.7 (0.1) 8.1 (0.2)
c
6F, glulam with a cross-section of 266 mm (height)  140 mm (width); 8F, glulam with a cross-section of 266 mm (height)  190 mm (width).
d
Means (sufxes a and b) within a given column (the same glulam species) with the same letter do not signicantly (p = 0.05) differ as determined by Tukey test; values in
parentheses represent the standard deviation.

exposure) were analyzed by the linear regression formulae shown
in Fig. 2. The MOE (MOR) retention rate increased with an increas-
ing section area (section modulus, moment of inertia) retention
rate for all tested glulams. Their relationships can be represented
by a positive linear regression formulae, and it was found that
the coefcient of determination (r2) values were 0.49840.5017
between the MOE retention rate and the section area (section mod-
ulus, moment of inertia) retention rate, and 0.71770.7421 be-
tween the MOR retention rate and the section area (section
modulus, moment of inertia) retention rate, respectively.
When comparing the MOR and MOE retention rate of 8F groups
(with a great cross-section) and 6F groups (with a small cross-sec-
tion), it is evident that the MOR and MOE retention rate of 8F
groups were higher than those of 6F groups. In our previous study
[10], the temperature within glulams with small cross-sections in-
creased rapidly because of their higher charring rate and an in-
creased re exposure time. In the research of AITC [16], a higher
strength retention rate of wood beams (75%) was reported after a
re exposure of 30 min in comparison to that of steel beams
(10%). Similar results were also observed in this study. Table 1
shows that the MOR retention rates of China r, Japanese cedar,
and Taiwania glulam specimens (8F groups) after a re exposure
of 30 min were 75.9%, 71.9%, and 75.1%, respectively.
3.2. Compression strength of glulam after re exposure
Table 2 indicates the compression strengths parallel to grain of
ve softwood glulams after re exposure tests. The compression
strengths of control groups of China r, Japanese cedar, Taiwania,
Douglas r, and Southern pine glulam specimens including differ-
ent layers were 32.133.6, 33.038.8, 34.341.0, 38.042.7, and
33.037.7 MPa, respectively. After the re exposure tests, the
retention rates of compression strength of all tested glulams were
91.1103.8%. The linear model (P = (106  0.29T)%) proposed by
Kundson and Schniewind [6] was the best model to predict the
retention rate of compression strength observed in our study, mea-
sured using the temperature values obtained in a previous study
[10].
In general, the compression strength decreases with increasing
temperature. However, no signicant difference of compression
strength between control groups, 6F groups, and 8F groups was
found. The reason is that the tested specimens were cut from the
central section of the glulam and the temperature within the cen-
tral section of the glulam increased slowly and remained steady
due to char layer formation during the re exposure test.
3.3. Shear strength of glulam after re exposure
Table 3 shows the shear strengths of ve softwood glulams after
re exposure tests. The shear strength of specimens that included
the glulam middle layer was lower than the strength of those
including the top and bottom layers. Higher-MOE laminae were
positioned on the top and bottom in order to manufacture a glulam
with better mechanical properties [15]. The shear strength of con-
trol groups of China r, Japanese cedar, and Taiwania glulam spec-
imens including different layers were 6.77.5, 8.28.6, and 7.4
7.9 MPa, respectively, which meet Class II (>5.3 MPa) of CNS
11031; whereas, the shear strength of control groups of Douglas
r and Southern pine glulam specimens including different layers
were 8.59.3, and 7.78.3 MPa, respectively, which meet Class I
(>7.1 MPa) of CNS 11031. After re exposure tests, no signicant
difference of shear strength between control groups, 6F groups,
and 8F groups was found. The reason is that the tested specimens
were cut from central section of the glulam and the temperature
within central section increased slowly and remained steady due
to char layer formation during the re exposure test. Dorn and Eg-
 T.-H. Yang et al. / Materials and Design 30 (2009) 698703
ner [17], and Dreyer [18] also reported that re tests performed
with glued laminated timber beams bonded with RF and PRF (phe-
nolresorcinolformaldehyde) adhesives did not show results that
would lead to concerns about failure of the gluelines. On the other
hand, there are indications that epoxy based adhesives are sensi-
tive to heat [19,20].
4. Conclusions
The effect of re exposure on the mechanical properties of glul-
ams made from ve softwood species as determined by a standard
re test (CNS12514) was investigated in this study. The results
indicated that the MOR and MOE values decreased with an increas-
ing re exposure time. After re exposure tests, the values of MOR
of all tested glulams ranged from 48.262.7 (control groups) to
21.842.1 MPa (re exposure groups); whereas, the values of
MOE of all tested glulams ranged from 4.17.7 (control groups)
to 2.56.9 GPa (re exposure groups). The results revealed that
the retention rates of MOE (61.092.7%) of all tested glulams in
our study were higher than those of MOR (42.075.9%).
The compression strengths of control groups of China r, Japa-
nese cedar, Taiwania, Douglas r, and Southern pine glulam spec-
imens including different layers were 32.133.6, 33.038.8, 34.3
41.0, 38.042.7, and 33.037.7 MPa, respectively. After re expo-
sure tests, the retention rates of compression strengths of all tested
glulams were 91.1103.8%. No signicant difference of compres-
sion strength between control groups, 6F groups, and 8F groups
was found.
The shear strength of control groups of China r, Japanese cedar,
and Taiwania glulam specimens including different layers were
6.77.5, 8.28.6, and 7.47.9 MPa, respectively, which meet Class
II (>5.3 MPa) of CNS 11031; whereas, the shear strength of control
groups of Douglas r and Southern pine glulam specimens includ-
ing different layers were 8.59.3, and 7.78.3 MPa, respectively,
which meet Class I (>7.1 MPa) of CNS 11031. After re exposure
tests, no signicant difference of shear strength between control
groups, 6F groups, and 8F groups was found.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the National Science Council (NSC-
94-2211-E-002-058-), and Architecture and Building Research
Institute, Ministry of the Interior, Executive Yuan, R.O.C. for nan-
cial support.
703
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