Dr. Mohammad Derikvand, Olga Srejić, Dr. Matthew Schwarzkopf and Dr. Michael Mrissa recently published a scientific article »Dowel-laminated timber from reclaimed boards: Bending properties and stiffness prediction from board-level NDT« in Construction and Building Materials.

The study investigates the potential of using reclaimed timber from a heritage building in Koper, Slovenia, which had been in service for around 200 years, to produce dowel-laminated timber (DLT). The results showed that DLT made from reclaimed boards achieved bending strength and stiffness comparable to DLT made from virgin timber.

The research also demonstrates that non-destructive testing (NDT) at board level can be used to predict the stiffness of DLT with good accuracy. The findings support the structural reuse of reclaimed timber and more efficient use of wood resources.