Development of a Cost-Effective CLT Panel Capable of Resisting DOS/DOD Design Basis Threats – Final Report

TR-19-41-2

Buildings for the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) often have to meet blast, ballistic resistance, and forced entry (FE) design requirements to mitigate the hazardous effects associated with terrorism. Historically, buildings exposed to these threats have been constructed using concrete or steel. However, the emergence of cross-laminated timber (CLT) presents an opportunity to provide a sustainable building material alternative to owners and architects developing such structures. Several wood characteristics (i.e., propensity to rupture in a brittle fashion upon being overstressed, relatively low penetration resistance) serve to limit CLT’s effectiveness in resisting blast, ballistic, and FE threats. Thus, the purpose of this effort was to explore the feasibility of incorporating commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) building materials (e.g., steel plate or wire  mesh) into CLT panel designs in order to address these limitations. Particular emphasis was placed on ensuring the developed panel designs are cost competitive to facilitate their inclusion in actual buildings.