Designation: bsh

dataholz.com Version:
Source:
13.05.2008
Holzforschung Austria
Preparation: HFA, NEU

Glued laminated timber

One can distinguish between homogenous (all
lamellae across a beam's cross-section belong to
one strength class) and combined (outer and inner
lamellae belong to different strength classes) glued
laminated timber. Glued laminated timber is
particularly suited for components bearing high
stresses or spanning large distances which have to
satisfy stringent requirements with respect to
dimensional stability and appearance.

Range of applications
Building material Requirement Service classes acc. to
EN 1995-1-1

General Description Glued laminated dry, humid, 1, 2 and 3*

Glued laminated timber (glulam) is manufactured timber - softwood exterior cond.
from at least three bonded lamellae with parallel
fibre orientation. The timber is kiln dried, planed * ... EN 386 gives the manufacturing parameters for glued
and classified into strength classes by visual or laminated timber for utilization in a specific service class

machine grading. The adhesive used to bond the

lamella has to fulfil the requirements of EN 301 for Typical sizes [mm]
loadbearing timber components. The suitability of
up to 18000 (standard)
the wood species in glulam construction has to be Length
up to 50000 (design components)
demonstrated. Spruce, pine and larch are most
commonly used. Straight as well as curved beams Width up to 260
can be manufactured.
Thickness up to 500

Technical references

Draft DIN 1052 Entwurf, Berechnung und Bemessung von Holzbauwerken. Allgemeine
Bemessungsregeln und Bemessungsregeln für den Hochbau
(Design of timber structures - General rules and rules for buildings)
ÖNORM B 3800-1/4 Brandverhalten von Baustoffen und Bauteilen
(Behaviour of building materials and components in fire)
Teil 1: Baustoffe; Anforderungen und Prüfungen (alte Ausgabe: 1.12.88)
Teil 4: Bauteile; Einreihung in die Brandwiderstandsklassen
ÖNORM B 4100-2 Holzbau - Holztragwerke - Teil 2: Berechnung und Ausführung
(Timber structures - Part 2: Design and construction)
ÖNORM DIN 4074-1 Sortierung von Nadelholz nach der Tragfähigkeit - Teil 1: Nadelschnittholz
(Strength grading of wood - Part 1: Coniferous sawn timber)
EN 14080 Timber structures - Glued laminated timber - Requirements
EN 386 Glued laminated timber - Performance requirements and minimum production
requirements
EN 387 Glued laminated timber - Large finger joints - Performance requirements and
minimum production requirements
EN 1194 Timber structures - Glued laminated timber - Strength classes and determination
of characteristic values
EN 1995-1-1/2 Eurocode 5 - Design of timber structures
Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings
Part 1-2: General rules - Structural fire design

dataholz.com – Catalogue of timber building materials, components and component connections reviewed to consider 1/3
thermal, acoustic, fire performance requirements and ecological drivers for timber construction released by accredited testing
institutes.
These datasheets will generally be accepted as proofs of compliance by building authorities in Austria.
dataholz.com DDesignation: bsh
Version: 13.05.2008
Source: Holzforschung Austria
Preparation: HFA, NEU

Glued laminated timber

Mechanical properties In accordance with EN 1995-1-1 the values have to
_ acc. to EN 1194 be modified according to the duration of load (kmod,
kdef).
Homogeneous glued laminated timber -
Softwood (glued horizontally)
Strength classes GL24h GL28h GL32h GL36h Physical properties
(BS11h)* (BS14h)* _ as stated in the "Catalogue of the thermal
®k [kg/m3] 380 410 430 450 performance of building materials and
fm,k [N/mm2] 24 28 32 36 components", (Austrian Standards Institute, 2001)
ft,0,k [N/mm2] 16,5 19,5 22,5 26
ft,90,k [N/mm2] 0,4 0,45 0,5 0,6 Wood and plywood
fc,0,k [N/mm2] 24 26,5 29 31
fc,90,k [N/mm2] 2,7 3,0 3,3 3,6 ® [kg/m3] 400 500 600 700 800
fv,k [N/mm2] 2,7 3,2 3,8 4,3 ¬ [W/mK] 0,11 0,13 0,15 0,17 0,20
E0,mean [N/mm2] 11600 12600 13700 14700 c [kJ/kgK] 2,5 2,5 2,5 2,5 2,5
E90,mean [N/mm2] 390 420 460 490
E0,5 [N/mm2] 9400 10200 11100 11900
Gmean [N/mm2] 720 780 850 910 Fire performance
* ... corresponding glulam-class acc. to the national implementation document _ acc. to EN 1995-1-2
for EN 1995-1-1
Glulam Hardwood Hardwood
Tab. 1: Characteristic values for homogenous glued
3 3 3
laminated timber manufactured acc. to EN 386 ®k≥290 kg/m ®k≥290 kg/m ®k≥450 kg/m
charring rate ß0 0,7 mm/min 0,7 mm/min 0,5 mm/min

Combined glued laminated timber - Softwood

(glued horizontally)
_ acc. to EN 14080 (Appendix E)
Strength classes GL24c GL28c GL32c GL36c
(BS11k)* (BS14k)* ≥380 kg/m3,
®k [kg/m ] 3
350 380 410 430 ≥40 mm
fm,k [N/mm2] 24 28 32 36 Euroclass D
ft,0,k [N/mm2] 14 16,5 19,5 22,5 Smoke production s2
ft,90,k [N/mm2] 0,35 0,4 0,45 0,5 Flaming droplets d0
fc,0,k [N/mm2] 21 24 26,5 29
fc,90,k [N/mm2] 2,4 2,7 3,0 3,3 _ acc. to ÖNORM B 3800-1 (old edition: 1.12.88)
fv,k [N/mm2] 2,2 2,7 3,2 3,8
E0,mean [N/mm2] 11600 12600 13700 14700 ≥2 mm
E90,mean [N/mm2] 320 390 420 460
E0,05 [N/mm2] 9400 10200 11100 11900 Flammability class B2
Gmean [N/mm2] 590 720 780 850 Smoke production ---
* ... corresponding glulam-class acc. to the national implementation document
Flaming droplets ---
for EN 1995-1-1

Tab. 2: Characteristic values of combined glued laminated _ acc. to ÖNORM B 3800-4

timber manufactured acc. to EN 386
BS11 and higher*
The characteristic strength values are determined in
bending and tension and relate to product height charring rate ß 0,65 mm/min
(or width) of 150 mm. The characteristic values for * ... acc. to ÖNORM DIN 4100-2
tensile shear strength in the direction perpendicular
to the grain are based on specimens measuring
45 mm x 180 mm x 70 mm. Shear strength values
are determined on an evenly stressed volume
measuring 0,0005 m3. A system of strength classes
is given in Tab. 1 and Tab. 2.

dataholz.com – Catalogue of timber building materials, components and component connections reviewed to consider 2/3
thermal, acoustic, fire performance requirements and ecological drivers for timber construction released by accredited testing
institutes.
These datasheets will generally be accepted as proofs of compliance by building authorities in Austria.
dataholz.com Designation: bsh
Version: 13.05.2008
Source: Holzforschung Austria
Preparation: HFA, NEU

Glued laminated timber

Ecological Properties Other
_ Please refer to report "Ecological drivers regarding _ Finger-jointed glued laminated timber:
wood and wood-based composites in Austria", Finger-jointed connection using large finger joints
Austrian institute for building biology and ecology shall comply with EN 385. They may not be used for
(2002) glued laminated timber in service class 3 if the
direction of the fibre changes within the connection.
Assessment:☺ ¢ generally favourable
ecological rating, certain weaknesses exist
Glued laminated timber shows low impact in most
of the environmental criteria assessed, however the
high acidification potential has to be noted. This is
caused by the substantial amounts of electricity
consumed in the manufacturing process.
Considering the whole of Europe (UCPTE-Mix)
electricity has substantial ecological implications
due to the fact that the majority of electricity is
generated in nuclear and thermic power plants. The
use of adhesives is relatively low for these products
thus resulting in a small contribution to the total
impact on the environment.

Raw materials
Holz Ausgangsprodukte Adhesives
Klebstoffe Thermal energy
Energie thermisch Electric energy
Energie elektrisch Transport
Transporte Others
Sonstige
100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Depletion of resources
Ressourcenabbau Global Warming
Treibhauspotential Photosmog
Photosmog Acidification
Versauerung Over-fertilization
Überdüngung
Potential

Fig. 1: Environmental impacts for different processes

(glued laminated timber)

Impact categories Glued laminated

Basis: tdry mass timber
Abiotic resource [g Sb eq] 1660
Global Warming Potential [kg CO2 eq]* -571
Global Warming Potential [kg CO2 eq] 202
Photosmog [g C2H2] 210
Acidification [g SO2 eq] 1750
---
Over-fertilization [g PO4 eq] 173
PEI non-renewable [MJ] 3335
PEI renewable [MJ] 19640

* ... taking into account the storage of carbon in wood

dataholz.com – Catalogue of timber building materials, components and component connections reviewed to consider 3/3
thermal, acoustic, fire performance requirements and ecological drivers for timber construction released by accredited testing
institutes.
These datasheets will generally be accepted as proofs of compliance by building authorities in Austria.