Abstract

In recent years, Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) products manufactured in China have been extensively exported globally. Nevertheless, most of these LVLs are currently used as decorative materials. To further promote the structural applications of LVLs, more systematic investigations were needed. In this study, axial compression and tension tests were conducted on 5 species of LVLs from Chinese manufacturers to assess their mechanical properties, and to delineate failure modes across different orientations. Then, a microscopic analysis was carefully designed to reveal the compressive damage among the wood and adhesive layers. Furthermore, a statistical analysis of result correlation, variability, benchmarking against characteristic values, and comparisons with traditional materials confirmed the feasibility of Chinese LVL in terms of structural usage. Mechanical properties from diverse sources were systematically evaluated to establish their implementation potential in structural timber applications. Moreover, finite element models were developed to simulate the behavior of LVLs, supporting the future numerical studies under various stress conditions and operational scenarios. Highlights This study selected five tree species for LVL production and conducted destructive compression and tension tests, providing key references for future structural design demands. Correlation, dispersion and characteristic values were analyzed for the tested data to demonstrate the applicability of the selected materials for structural usage while compared with existing timber engineering products. The microstructural response of LVL under compressive stress-induced damage were presented, supporting the finite element method based on the Hill yield criterion to simulate the behavior under compressive stress.