Cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels are relatively new engineered wood products that can be used as load bearing walls, floors and roof elements in innovative and high quality modern timber structures. The fire behavior of cross-laminated timber panels requires careful evaluation to allow the expansion of CLT elements usage in buildings. A University of British Columbia study has been conducted at the Trees and Timber Institute CNR-IVALSA in San Michele all'Adige, Italy to experimentally evaluate the fire performance of Canadian CLT panels. In total, ten loaded fire tests were performed using standard fire curves (ULC/ASTM and ISO) to study the influence of different cross-section layups on the fire resistance of floor and wall elements and to investigate the influence of different anchors on the fire behavior of wall elements. This paper presents the main results of the experimental analyses and discusses in particular the charring rate, one of the main parameters in fire design.

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In the context of the development and promotion of innovative and efficient hybrid timber structures, a pilot building, the ETH House of Natural Resources, has been designed. The building comprises three innovative structural systems, a post-tensioned timber frame, a composite beech laminated veneer lumber–concrete floor and a biaxial timber slab made of cross-laminated timber and beech laminated veneer lumber. The building will serve as an office building for the laboratory of hydraulics, hydrology and glaciology of ETH Zurich; as a ‘living lab’ for the implementation of a permanent sensor network for long-term monitoring purposes; and as a setup for a field testing campaign of in situ tests at different construction stages. Results of the first two series of this testing campaign and the derived modal characteristics of the structure are presented in this paper. The obtained modal data will extend the knowledge base on innovative hybrid timber structures and help to predict structural response for the case of significant loads such as high wind loads or earthquakes, through an extended model element updating procedure.

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