Creep in chipboard

Summary Deflection under 4-point bending of a range of board types was measured for up to six months. Results were obtained under steady-state conditions of stress level (30%, 45%, 60%, 67.5% and 75% of the short term breaking stress), relative humidity (30%, 65% and 90% rh) and temperature (10°C, 20°C and 30°C). These results are presented in terms of relative creep and creep modulus. The relative creep for all board types increased with increasing stress level, increasing relative humidity and increasing temperature. An analysis of variance investigating variations between materials showed significant differences in relative creep. When the relative creep of all materials was compared over all conditions and all stress levels, plywood and waferboard had consistently low relative creep values. High alkaline cured PF chipboard and non-British Standard UF chipboard had consistently high relative creep values. The creep modulus of MUF bonded chipboard decreased with increasing log₁₀ (time) under all conditions. Creep modulus also decreased with increasing stress level.The statistical analysis in this paper was performed by Anne Hasted and Laura New of the Statistical Services Centre, Reading University     

Creep in chipboard

Summary Although previous papers in this series have shown that a 4-element rheological model can provide a very good representation of the creep deflection of chipboard in bending, a new set of long-term data shows that it has certain limitations as a model for predicting deflection up to 3^1/2 years. It was deduced in a earlier paper (Pierce et al. 1979) that the linear viscous flow component was likely to predict higher than actual deflections over a long period. This paper shows that view to be correct, and puts forward a modified 4-element model in which the viscous component is non-linear with respect to time. The resulting 5-parameter model is shown to be superior to the 4-parameter model for long-term predictions of creep deflection particularly at the lower stress levels, although it appears that the viscoelastic and viscous components of deflection are not as realistic as in the 4-parameter representation.     

Creep in chipboard

Summary The effect of moisture and level of stressing on the rate of creep and time to failure is studied for UF and MUF bonded particleboard. Response curves were fitted to a 4-element rheological model with a high degree of accuracy for four levels of stressing and for three levels of relative humidity at 20°C. Values of relative creep increased with time and also with increased levels of stress and r.h. The ratio of stress to deflection — presented either as the creep modulus or as isochronous curves — decreased rapidly with time. Particleboard is demonstrated to exhibit non-linear viscoelastic properties, particularly at the higher levels of stress. Deflection was increased and time to failure decreased when r.h. was raised from 65 to 90 per cent, but no significant statistical change was noted between 30 and 65 per cent r.h. Increased levels of stress caused a decrease in both deflection and time to failure. Greater deflection at failure and longer time to failure were recorded for MUF board, but for the UF board the 90 per cent r.h. had a more pronounced effect in increasing deflection and decreasing the time to failure. Predictions are made on the long-term stress loadings for different humidity conditions.     

Creep in chipboard

Summary Samples of five chipboards, one waferboard, one plywood, one fibre building board and redwood timber (Pinus sylvestris) were loaded in 4-point bending under four stress levels: 30, 45, 67.5 and 75% of the short term ultimate, thereby extending earlier work at 60% stress level. Five environmental conditions were used at each stress level: 10°C 62% relative humidity (rh); 20°C 30% rh; 20 °C 65% rh; 20°C 90% rh and 30°C 68% rh. Deflections were recorded at least on a daily basis for a period of 6 months, unless failure of the sample occurred earlier. Values for the elastic, viscoelastic and viscous components of creep deflection were calculated for two time periods using the 4-element rheological model developed in an earlier paper: comparisons were made on the basis of the percentage contribution of each component. The relative proportions of the elastic, viscoelastic and viscous components making up total deflection were found to vary considerably with time, temperature, relative humidity, stress level and material. The relationships were complex with strong interactions occurring among environmental condition, stress level and material. Thus, for example, the effect of high temperature, or high relative humidity, in determining the magnitude of the viscous component was much greater at higher levels of stressing: waferboard appeared to be less sensitive to high humidity and solid timber more sensitive to high temperature than the other materials. T-tests further confirmed the complexity of the relationships. It is concluded that much of the variability in creep deflection recorded in Part 8 of this series is primarily due to changes in the percentage contribution of the viscous component.     

Creep in chipboard

Summary Ten samples from each of ten brands of commercial chipboard, covering a range of UF, MUF and PF resins, were stressed over a 5-year period at 30% of their short term ultimate bending strength, under protected external conditions. No relationship could be established for the term of the experiment between fluctuations in creep deflection and changes in environmental conditions. Exceptionally, for two short periods of time, relationships were established and these were in line with current views on mechano-sorptive behaviour. Differences in relative creep between the ten brands were significantly greater than those occurring between samples of any one brand. Although there were significant differences in relative creep among the six brands of MUF bonded boards, the relative creep of all these boards was significantly lower than those brands made with UF and high-alkaline cured PF resins. While most of the MUF bonded samples survived the duration of the experiment, all UF and PF samples failed before the end of the 5-year period. For the first 6 months of the experiment, the mean relative creep under protected external conditions was equal to, or slightly less than, that obtained in matched samples tested under a constant environment of 20°C 90% rh.     

Creep in chipboard

Summary Samples of five chipboards, one waferboard, one plywood, one fibre building board and Scots pine timber were loaded in four point bending at a stress equivalent to 60 per cent of the short term failing stress under five combinations of temperature and relative humidity for a period of six months, or until prior failure.Irrespective of whether creep behaviour was assessed in terms of total deflection, viscous component of deflection, relative creep, creep modulus, or deflection at, or time to failure, significant differences were obtained with variations both in temperature and relative humidity. The effect of temperature, at fixed humidity, was slightly greater between 20°C and 30°C than between 10°C and 20°C, while the effect of humidity was appreciably greater between 65% and 90% rh than between 30% and 65% rh. Fitting of hyperbolic curves to the data permitted the prediction of creep behaviour with a good degree of fit at any combination of temperature and humidity within the experimental range.Differences in response to environmental conditions existed among some of the boards. Thus the ranking order of the materials was slightly different under variable humidity than it was under variable temperature. It was possible to describe these differences in terms of the variation that occurred among the materials in the relative proportion of the elastic, viscoelastic and viscous components of deflection.     

Effect of two relative humidity environments on the performance properties of MDF, OSB and chipboard.

The fatigue and creep performance of MDF, OSB and chipboard have been examined in two environments, namely 65%RH (standard environment) and 85%RH (high humidity). Parallel fatigue and creep tests have been performed in four-point bending on the three wood-based panel products in the two environments. The constant 65%RH environment is service class 1 and the constant 85% RH environment is indicative of a service class 2 environment as detailed in Eurocode 5. The non-interruptive technique of stress-strain hysteresis loop capture has been utilised to follow property changes of the fatigue samples during cyclic loading at a stress ratio of R equal to 0.1. Loop parameters such as loop area, dynamic modulus, and fatigue modulus have been used to characterise the response of these materials to fatigue loads in the two environments. Creep microstrains for the creep samples were recorded in parallel with the fatigue parameters. Fatigue and creep results at 85%RH were more variable than those reported at 65%RH for MDF, OSB and chipboard. In general, at R=0.1 and 85%RH, fatigue and creep microstrains were higher, dynamic stiffnesses were lower and hysteresis loop areas were higher than corresponding properties measured at 65%RH. MDF and chipboard were less moisture tolerant than OSB, this is reflected in the large changes in fatigue and creep parameters.     

The modelling of time-dependant deformation in wood using chemical kinetics

Summary The development of rheological models to predict creep has led to the derivation of quite complex equations that can predict creep reasonably accurately. However, these models are conceptual and are not based on a fundamental understanding of the actual deformation processes occurring within the material. The concept of modelling creep using a chemical kinetic approach is one that attempts to understand creep in wood at a molecular level and, from this, to develop models that more accurately predict creep deflections.This paper presents two models developed from chemical kinetic theory, that describe the time-dependant deformation of wood. The validity of applying these models to experimental data has been assessed by stress relaxation tests on thin samples of Sequoia sempervirens. Two stages of experimentation were carried out. In stage 1, both models were applied to the results of stress relaxation tests on 6 samples. Similar values of activation energy and activation volume were calculated by both models and a single energy barrier was found to dominate the deformation process.In stage 2, the effect of varying the initial applied stress on activation energy and activation volume was assessed by carrying out stress relaxation tests at stress levels of 25%, 30% and 35% of the short-term strength. Values of activation energy and activation were found to increase as the applied stress level decreased.Both models describe the time-dependent behaviour of wood well, however their ability to predict long-term creep deflections may be limited. Future work will develop these models further in order to improve long-term creep prediction and then apply them to the results of both creep and stress relaxation tests at a variety of stress levels and moisture contents in order to test their validity.     

Fatigue and creep of chipboard

Structural grade chipboard was subjected to fatigue and creep loads in four-point bending, the peak fatigue stress being equal to the constant creep stress. Peak fatigue stresses of 50, 60, 70 and 80% of the static bend strength were selected and an S-N (stress versus log₁₀ (cycles)) curve was generated. Stress versus strain hysteresis loops were captured automatically throughout fatigue tests so that underlying creep strain, dynamic modulus and energy dissipated per cycle were continuously monitored. The possibility of superimposing creep and fatigue data was investigated.The S-N curve generated at R = 0.01 demonstrates that for lives of less than 10⁷ cycles chipboard does not show a fatigue endurance limit. The 70 and 80% samples experience a gradual decrease in dynamic modulus and an increase in the area of the hysteresis loop during fatigue tests. Samples at the 50 and 60% levels show an initial increase in dynamic modulus before a decline to failure is observed.Creep samples never failed before fatigue samples at the same peak stress level, but until close to the point of failure, creep strains were nearly always greater than fatigue strains on elapsed time. It is concluded that the mechanism of fatigue damage accumulation differs from the mechanism of creep deformation.     

Fatigue in wood-based panels. Part 1: The strength variability and fatigue performance of OSB, chipboard and MDF

Wood-based panels used as floor decking can be exposed to fatigue as well as creep loading. The strength and fatigue performances of three wood-based panel products OSB, chipboard and MDF have been determined in four-point bending. The mean bending strengths were found to decrease in the following order MDF>OSB>chipboard. The bending strength variation within the OSB was considerably greater than that for chipboard and MDF. Normalised with respect to the static strengths, the fatigue performance of the chipboard was superior to that of the OSB, although the two materials have very similar performances at low stress levels. Normalised with respect to the static strengths, the fatigue performance of the MDF was inferior to both materials and at lower stress levels the fatigue performance deteriorated to a greater extent. However, in terms of absolute applied stress, the fatigue performance of the MDF was superior to that of the OSB, which was superior to that of the chipboard. However, as the stress was reduced the difference between the three materials reduced. At low stresses the performances of the three materials were quite similar. Received 5 August 1999     

Fatigue and creep in chipboard

Summary Structural grade chipboard used as floor decking can be exposed to a combination of creep loading, and fatigue loading at a wide range of frequencies. Creep loads are produced by static masses such as machinery. Fatigue loads arise from intermittent loads such as fork lift trucks in motion, people in motion, or vibrating machinery.Four-point bend tests in fatigue and creep have been performed simultaneously on matched sets of four structural grade chipboard samples. The aim was to examine the effect of frequency on the fatigue performance of chipboard by following the rate of microstrain development in each case at the same peak stress. The ratio of the minimum to the maximum fatigue stress (the R ratio) was set at R = 0.1. Fatigue tests were performed at three different frequencies classified as low, medium and high, determined by the rate of application of stress.The performance of chipboard in flooring applications is shown to be highly dependent on the loading frequency. Increasing the frequency increased the number of cycles to failure as did reducing the stress level. Using hysteresis loop capture to monitor damage accumulation during testing indicates that there is a fatigue limit for chipboard loaded at constant amplitude at some point just below 20% of its static bending strength.This research was supported by the Building Research Establishment who also supported the postgraduate case award in conjunction with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)     

Long creep-recovery behavior of bamboo-based products

This paper describes the bending creep behavior of two types of bamboo-based products, bamboo-laminated veneer lumber (BLVL), and glued-laminated bamboo (GLB, also called Bamboo Glulam) at different stress levels for half a year and recovery for the same time. It was found that the stress level of BLVL was more sensitive on creep property than that of GLB; the creep resistance of GLB was worse than that of BLVL in the stress levels of 30–50%; the instantaneous recovery ratio (elastic recovery to elastic creep) decreased with an increase of the stress levels, while the residual ratio (residual deformation corresponded to the total creep deflections) increased with an increase of stress levels for all specimens; Burgers model fit creep data very well for both bamboo-based products, while the recovery Weibull equation does not fit recovery data well for GLB.     

Modelling of bending creep of low- and high-temperature-dried spruce timber

In the current project, a finite element model is developed to analyse the long-term behaviour of timber beams. The time-dependent response of wood subjected to bending and moisture changes is investigated in terms of strains and stresses. A rheological model is implemented to capture the effects of creep, mechano-sorption and hygroexpansion. The model is validated against test results from Bengtsson and Kliger (Holzforschung 57:95–100, 2003). The results of the analysis showed that the mechano-sorptive creep of low- (LT) and high-temperature-dried (HT) timber beams can be sufficiently modelled with a spring and a single Kelvin body. The different mechano-sorptive behaviour of LT- and HT-dried specimens is considered with different mechano-sorptive and shrinkage–swelling parameters. The presented model could be used to derive general mechano-sorptive parameters: (1) for better prediction of creep over the service life and (2) to provide a basis of time-dependent probabilistic calculations for structural-sized timber in serviceability limit state.     

Finite element study of growth stress formation in wood and related distortion of sawn timber

Lack of straightness in timber is the most frequent complaint regarding solid (and laminated) timber products worldwide. Nowadays, customers demand higher quality in the shape stability of wood products than they did earlier. The final distortion of timber boards is mostly caused by moisture-related stresses in wood (drying distortions) and growth-related stresses (distortions appearing when logs are split up to timber boards by sawing). To get more knowledge on how these distortions can be reduced in wooden products, there is a need for improved understanding of this material behaviour through good numerical tools developed from empirical data. A three-dimensional finite element board distortion model developed by Ormarsson (Doctoral thesis, Publ. 99:7, 1999) has been extended to include the influence of growth stresses by incorporating a one-dimensional finite element growth stress model developed here. The growth stress model is formulated as an axisymmetric general plane strain model where material for all new annual rings is progressively added to the tree during the analysis. The simulation results presented include how stresses are progressively generated during the tree growth, distortions related to the redistribution of growth stresses during log sawing, and distortions and stresses in drying reflecting the effects of growth stresses. The results show that growth stresses clearly vary during tree growth and also form a large stress gradient from pith to bark. This in itself can result in significant bow and crook deformations when logs are sawn into timber boards. The distortion results from the simulations match well with the results observed in reality. The parametric study also showed that the radial growth stress distribution is highly influenced by parameters such as modulus of elasticity, micro fibril angle and maturation strain.     

Predicting the short-term properties of chipboard using composite theory

Summary The applicability of models for describing the short-term properties of chipboard were investigated using the results from experiments conducted on samples of a laboratory-made chipboard (comprised of Scots pine chips and urea formaldehyde resin), and sections of urea formaldehyde and Scots pine strips.The rule of mixtures equations, modified for short fibre composites, were employed to predict the strength and stiffness of chipboard. They were found to provide a good estimate of both the chipboard strength and modulus of elasticity, with the assumptions being made that the chips were aligned parallel to the direction of applied stress and that the chips could be treated as having cylindrical geometry.The results of this investigation revealed that chipboard is a highly unusual material. Compared to conventional fibre-reinforced composites, chipboard has a very high volume fraction of fibres, and the similar moduli of elasticity of the fibres and matrix can result in the concentration of stress in the matrix rather than in the fibres. However, these factors did not prevent the assessment and development of appropriate short fibre composite models to predict the strength and stiffness of chipboard.     

Modelling the creep behaviour of chipboard: The rheological approach

Summary The process of applying the rheological approach to describe creep deformation has been investigated using the 5-parameter model developed by Pierce and Dinwoodie (1977).A method utilising exponential curve fitting techniques was examined by attempting to produce fits to the first 6 months' data from long-term experiments (12 years). The procedure included a means of assessing the variability occurring in the derived model parameters which showed that acceptable fits were obtainable for only 3 out of the 20 data sets available. Further analysis of one of these data sets (that for cement-bonded particleboard, subjected to a stress level of 30% of the short-term ultimate in an environment of 25 °C and 90% relative humidity) revealed that the model attributed most of the creep deformation to the viscous component; resulting in an over-estimate of the deformation at 12 years when the 6-month fit was projected.An alternative approach to deriving the value of the model parameters is proposed, based on the theory underlying the model. The applicability of this approach was investigated using the above mentioned data set. It was found that the model can be constrained to give a more realistic ratio between the time-dependent components of deformation (ie. viscoelastic and viscous creep) for the material considered, thereby improving the accuracy of the projected creep deformation over the 12-year period.     

应用变参数Maxwell模型拟合中密度纤维板蠕变

在研究木质材料的流变性质时，广泛采用多个弹簧和阻尼单元的各种组合形式的力学模型。但其多个常流变参数不易求解，本文提出一种变参数流变模型的概念，并以两单元的变参数Maxwell模型拟合了MDF的蠕变性质。结果表明，上述作法是可行的，采用变参数Maxwell模型不仅能以较少的弹，粘单元组合代替常参数的多个弹，粘单元组合模型。使流变参数便于求解，而且该模型还可方便地应用Boltzmann叠加原理拟合MDF在变荷下的蠕变变形。     

Creep of four tropical hardwoods from Cameroon

Summary The knowledge of the behaviour of wood over time is important in the design of timber structures. This study, which is part of a program to better understand the behaviour of tropical woods, aims at showing the effect of creep in wood. Observations were made on the development of the deflection in a uniformly stressed beam under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. The results obtained show that for stresses not greater than 35% of the stress at failure, the behaviour of the species tested is linear. In these cases, the total relative creep is not more than 35%. Similar results have been obtained for four cameroonian species: Azobe, Tali, Sapelli and Movingui.This research was carried out in the Structural Analysis Laboratory of the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering, National Advanced Polytechnic School of Engineering. Yaounde. Director: Dr. A. Foudjet     

Fatigue and creep in chipboard

Summary Matched samples of chipboard were loaded in four-point bending under either a 7 hours loaded/17 hours unloaded cycle, a 17 hours loaded/7 hours unloaded cycle, or constant load in order to asses the effect of cyclic loading on creep deformation. Tests were carried out at three humidity levels (30, 45 and 90% RH) and at three stress levels (30, 45, and 60% of the short term strength). The creep rate of samples under constant load was greater than under cyclic load, with the 7 hours loaded/17 hours unloaded samples giving the lowest creep rate. Analysis of the data on an accumulated time-under-load basis showed that the law of superposition did not apply to the 7 hours loaded/17 hours unloaded samples at the 30% and 45% stress levels, with these samples giving lower deflection than for the other loading conditions. The 17 hours loaded/7 hours unloaded samples also did not appear to obey the law of superposition, although the difference between them and the constantly loaded samples was slight. Considerable scatter in data accumulated at the 60% stress level did not allow any differences in the superposition analysis of cyclic and constant loaded samples to become apparent. Increasing the stress level applied to samples produced an almost linear increase in relative creep for all loading regimes. The 7 hours loaded/17 hours unloaded samples gave consistently lower relative creep values at all levels of stressing, but particularly at the 30 and 45% stress levels. Increasing the relative humidity from 30% to 65% RH had an almost negligible effect on relative creep of all samples, but increasing the humidity to 90% RH caused a marked increase in relative creep.     

A numerical study of the shape stability of sawn timber subjected to moisture variation Part 2: Simulation of drying board

A theory for analysing the shape stability of sawn timber was implemented in a finite element program. To illustrate the types of results that can be obtained, the behaviour of a board during drying was simulated. The simulation yields information about unfavourable deformations and stresses during the drying process. To investigate factors that influence drying deformations, a parameter study was performed in which the influence of different constitutive models and different material parameters was studied. In addition, the influence of the spiral grain angle was examined. Received 22 April 1997