As part of the FFG-funded research project Unistrand, the researchers of the IGCE recently carried out a comprehensive series of large-scale bending tests on engineered wood products with specimen lengths of up to three meters.
The objective of the experimental campaign was to evaluate the structural performance of the newly developed Unidirectional Strand Board (Unistrand) and compare it directly with established timber products currently used in construction practice. The testing program included both 5-layer and 7-layer configurations of:


•    Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) 
•    Magnum Board 
•    Unidirectional Strand Board (Unistrand) 


Unistrand has been developed and investigated over the past three years within the framework of the project. The large-scale tests provide important insights into the load-bearing behaviour, stiffness, and failure mechanisms of the material and allow for a direct comparison with state-of-the-art engineered timber products.
The experiments were conducted at the workshops of the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and River Research at BOKU University. To ensure accurate measurement of structural behaviour, advanced monitoring techniques were employed, including Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and Linear Variable Differential Transformers (LVDTs) for high-resolution displacement tracking.
The IGCE team would like to thank its project partners for their valuable contributions to the testing campaign. Special thanks go to Swiss Krono for supplying the strand-based reference materials, as well as HASSLACHER Group and Henkel for manufacturing and bonding the multi-layer specimens.
The results of the ongoing analyses will contribute to the assessment of innovative strand-based timber products and their potential application in future sustainable and resource-efficient construction systems.