SUPERVISOR: Johannes KONNERTH

PROJECT ASSIGNED TO: Simon LUX

The European Union pushes for a higher share of wood-based materials in the building sector. Consequently, making sufficient volumes of high-quality wood available is a major concern. Climate-driven forest 
conversion leads to an increasing share of hardwood trees in Central European forests. To substitute the board-based grading approach, a semi-finished product, “strip-like lamination” (SLL) are produced. This 
is especially interesting for hardwood, but the approach can also be applied to softwood assortments. Each lamination consists of multiple “strips”, stemming from different boards, mitigating the 
strength-limiting effect of various wood characteristics in these SLLs. 

The first comprehensive mechanical performance profile for SLLs from European beech and oak including the finger joint performance is a main goal of the project. Furthermore,the extent of the desired 
homogenization of the raw material through non-destructive testing is another important focus. First results show, the mechanical properties of beech SLLs exceed the requirements for European softwood strength 
classes. This supports the great potential for SLLs in structural applications. SLLs should complement strength-graded structural timber in structural glued wood products, like glued laminated timber (GLT) and 
cross-laminated timber (CLT).