Browsing by Subject "Wood construction"

Wood construction has been increasing globally and engineered wood products (EWPs), such as Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), have had a major part in it. Increasing wood construction could help decrease the carbon footprint of the construction sector, since wood can be sustainably sourced and wood products store carbon. To use wood in construction in a more extensive way, its properties and behaviour as a construction material must be known. Wood has many properties of which moisture has a great impact on other properties, such as strength. Too high moisture can also cause problems, such as fungal growth, on its own. Therefore, it is important to monitor the moisture levels and understand the factors affecting them. In this study, the wood moisture content (MC) of CLT wall elements was monitored with resistance-based moisture meters from the manufacturing plant, through transportation and construction of a building at the Hyytiälä forestry station in Finland. There were sensors in five locations around the building and they all measured MC in three different depths inside the wall. The objective was to see how, where and when did the MC change within the CLT elements. The data was analysed with statistical tests and presented through various types of graphs. The results showed that variation within the data was large, approximately from 8% to 16%. On average the MC was at its highest near the surface of the CLT elements, after the protective canopy was removed. Two measuring locations on the opposite sides of the building had consistently higher MC than in the other measuring locations. The MC stayed below FSP (Fibre saturation point) throughout the monitoring period and, therefore, the risk for moisture induced damage is very low.