Dovetailed massive wood board elements for multi-story buildings

Due to easy connection technique, airtightness, and high rigidity, engineered wood products (EWPs) e.g., Cross-laminated timber (CLT) can compete, especially in multi-story timber buildings. In EWPs, adhesives play an important role, particularly by helping to protect the wood, making the structure light and strong, and relieving expansion and contraction due to natural moisture. However, the use of adhesives raises some concerns about EWPs’ sustainability, recyclability, and wider environmental impact. There is still room for a solution of solid and pure wood based on one of the oldest traditionally used joining methods, providing dovetailed massive wood board elements (DMWBE) that offer as healthy indoor air as possible without adhesives and metal binders. Numerous studies have been done in the literature on the technological, ecological, social, and economic aspects of EWPs in construction with different building solutions, but no attempt has been made to evaluate the technical performance of DMWBE in multi-story buildings. This research aims to create higher value-added circular economy opportunities to increase the competitiveness of Finnish large-scale industrial timber structures at the local level and to support European climate policy as part of bio-economy and sustainable development.