Mechano-sorptive experiments perpendicular to grain under tensile and compressive loads

The present paper is part of a study concerning the long-term deformations and stresses in wood perpendicular to grain when subjected to variations of humidity. Experiments under sustained loading both in tension and compression are described. The effect of different humidity cycles, slow and fast cycles in high and low humidity ranges, on the deformations is studied. It can be observed from the test results, that the mechano-sorptive strains are highly significant, about five times the elastic deformation, although the load level is low and only a single humidity cycle is induced. The deformations are slightly higher in compression than in tension. The moisture range, where the humidity cycle occurred, did not have any major influence. The deformation was mostly dependant on the magnitude of the moisture change. The speed of the humidity cycle did not show any effect on the induced deformations over most of the humidity range, at the high humidity end some rate effects could be noticed. Received 24 November 1997     

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.     

Mechano-sorptive effects in wooden material

Summary The effects on wood of simultaneous mechanical and moisture loading are studied. In order to clarify the mechano-sorptive behaviour of wood, a review of different phenomena presented in the literature is included. Based on this review a constitutive model is proposed for the case of uniaxial stress in the longitudinal direction. The validity of the model is checked independently against test results. The calculations show that the model is capable of describing the response of wood with reasonable accuracy. Simulations indicate that the response of small test specimens is more difficult to describe than that of larger beams. Some differences in behaviour are found to depend on loading mode and nature of moisture cycling. Very large and fast moisture cycles seem to give larger mechano-sorption than smaller variations. The results of the simulations show that there is a significant influence of strain on the shrinkage and swelling response.     

Mechano-sorptive creep in wood fibres

In order to investigate the way in which fibre properties affect the mechano-sorptive creep phenomenon in paper, single wood fibres were exposed to tensile stresses at a constant humidity of 80% relative humidity (RH) and in a cyclic humidity environment varying between 80 and 30% RH. Contrary to earlier claims, it was demonstrated that single wood fibres exposed to a cyclic RH show a considerably higher creep than that corresponding to the highest RH experienced in the cycle, i.e., a mechano-sorptive behaviour. The creep strain rate at cyclic humidity was shown to be a function of the creep rate at constant climate, and to be an apparent linear function of the applied stress.     

A global rheological model of wood cantilever as applied to wood drying

In the process of wood drying inevitable stresses are induced. This often leads to checking and undesired deformations that may greatly affect the quality of the dried product. The purpose of this study was to propose a new rheological model representation capable to predict the evolution of stresses and deformations in wood cantilever as applied to wood drying. The rheological model considers wood shrinkage, instantaneous stress–strain relationships, time induced creep, and mechano-sorptive creep. The constitutive law is based on an elasto–viscoplastic model that takes into account the moisture content gradient in wood, the effect of external load, and a threshold viscoplastic (permanent) strain which is dependent on stress level and time. The model was implemented into a numerical program that computes stresses and strains of wood cantilever under constant load for various moisture content conditions. The results indicate that linear and nonlinear creep behavior of wood cantilever under various load levels can be simulated using only one Kelvin element model in combination with a threshold-type viscoplastic element. The proposed rheological model was first developed for the identification of model parameters from cantilever creep tests, but it can be easily used to simulate drying stresses of a piece of wood subjected to no external load. It can therefore predict the stress reversal phenomenon, residual stresses and maximum stress through thickness during a typical drying process.     

A numerical study of the shape stability of sawn timber subjected to moisture variation Part 1: Theory

A three-dimensional theory for the numerical simulation of deformations and stresses in wood during moisture variation is described. The constitutive model employed, assumes the total strain rate to be the sum of the elastic strain rate, the moisture-induced strain rate and the mechano-sorption strain rate. Wood is assumed to be an orthotropic material with large differences between the longitudinal, radial and tangential directions in the properties found. The influence of the growth rings, the spiral grain and the conical shape of the log on the orthotropic directions in the wood is taken account of in the model. A finite element formulation is used to describe the deformation process and the stress development during drying.The research presented in this paper is a part of the national research programme in Sweden concerning wood physics and drying. It was financially supported by the Research Foundation of Swedish Sawmills and the Swedish Council for Forestry and Agricultural Research.     

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.     

Mechano-sorptive creep in pulp fibres and paper

The factors affecting mechano-sorptive creep of wood and paper have been investigated for a long time. It has also been argued that single wood fibres do not exhibit mechano-sorptive creep and that the reasons for the accelerated creep under moisture cycling conditions instead are related to the bonds between the fibres. In order to examine the relevance of this argument, measurements on single pulp fibres of different composition were performed in tension, and the mechano-sorptive creep was compared to that of papers made from the same source of pulp fibres. All fibres tested were found to exhibit an increased creep rate during moisture cycling as compared to constant humidity conditions. Thus, pulp fibres show mechano-sorptive creep and in this sense behave similar to solid wood or paper products made thereof. A linear relation between the creep strain rate during cyclic humidity and the creep strain rate at a constant humidity was also noted for both fibres and paper. This relation was not affected by changes in hemicelluloses content or composition, neither for fibres nor for papers made of these fibres. However, in all cases, papers showed a much higher mechano-sorptive creep than the corresponding fibres they were made of.     

Identification of moisture-induced stresses in cross-laminated wood panels from beech wood (Fagus sylvatica L.)

The crosswise bonding of the layers in laminated solid wood panels results in internal stresses when the humidity varies. The layers hinder one another as a result of the anisotropy of wood. The purpose of this study was to determine the internal stress state in free and constrained swelling. The expansion properties in the three panel directions were measured. Furthermore, the swelling of samples was constrained while the resulting forces were recorded. Hygroscopic warping experiments were carried out inducing a climate gradient within the panels. Afterwards the stresses were calculated from released deformations and non-destructive measurements of the Young’s modulus. The materials used were untreated and heat-treated beech wood, the latter modified in two levels. In addition to homogenously structured panels, treated top layers were combined with an untreated middle layer. Swelling, swelling pressure, warping and internal stresses considerably decreased from untreated to treated wood. If layers from treated and untreated material were combined, stresses and deformations increased as compared to the variants produced only from treated wood. It was concluded that the lower equilibrium moisture content of heat-treated beech wood improves its dimensional stability, which results in smaller deformation differences between the layers. Hence, the stresses were less distinctive.     

Long term bending creep of wood in cyclic relative humidity

Summary Long term creep and recovery test results of wood under a bending load of 10 MPa stress and subjected to relative humidity cycling are presented. In spite of the vast number of humidity cycles during these tests, the results do not give evidence of an existence of a mechano-sorptive creep limit. The results also indicate that the recovery is not complete on unloading when the humidity is cycled. A mechano-sorptive model that fits the test results is proposed. According to the model, the elastic bending deflection in a cyclic load of 10—3 MPa and subjected to natural outdoor relative humidity can be about doubled to account for the creep under ten years loading.     

Numerical and experimental study of moisture-induced stress and strain field developments in timber logs

When solid wood dries from a green condition to a moisture content used for further processing, moisture-induced fracture and stresses can occur. The drying stresses arise because of internal deformation constraints that are strongly affected by the cross-sectional moisture gradient differential shrinkage and the inhomogeneity of the material. To obtain a better understanding of how stresses develop during climatic variations, the field histories of stresses (and strains) in cross sections in their entirety need to be studied. The present paper reports on experiments and numerical simulations concerned with analysing the development of strains and stresses during the drying of 15-mm-thick discs of Norway spruce timber log. The samples were dried at 23 °C and relative humidity of 64 % from a green condition to equilibrium moisture content. The moisture gradient in the longitudinal direction was minimised by use of thin discs simplifying the moisture history of the samples studied. The strain field history was measured throughout the drying process by use of a digital image correlation system. Numerical simulations of the samples agreed rather well with the experimental strain results obtained. The stress results also indicated where in the cross section and when fractures could be expected to occur during drying. More optimal drying schemes showed markedly reduced stress generation.     

Radial variation in partial compression properties perpendicular to the grain of Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi)

This study investigated the densities, average width of annual rings, and partial compression stresses at 5 % strain perpendicular to the grain of air-dried wood specimens, which were continuous in the radial direction from the pith and were obtained from Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) trees with different diameters at breast height in the same stand, to evaluate the radial variations in partial compression properties perpendicular to the grain. The air-dried densities of the wood increased with the distance from the pith. The average width of annual rings of the wood tended to decrease with increasing distance from the pith and those of medium- and large-diameter trees seemed to increase near the pith. The partial compression stresses at 5 % strain in the tangential loading direction tended to increase with the distance from the pith and with air-dried wood density. However, in the radial loading direction, this tendency was not observed. The partial compression stresses at 5 % strain in the radial loading direction tended to be low in wood with a small average width of annual rings. These results indicate that the factors affecting the radial variations in the partial compression stress at 5 % strain differ depending on the loading directions.     

Fibre morphological effects on mechano-sorptive creep

The increased creep rate of paper under load during moisture cycling conditions as compared to that at high constant humidity is a problem in the use of packaging materials. In order to investigate the influence of morphological factors of the fibres on the occurrence and magnitude of this phenomenon, i.e. the occurrence of mechano-sorptive creep, studies on wood fibres isolated from different parts of spruce wood were performed. Thus, creep properties were studied on earlywood and latewood fibres from both juvenile wood and mature wood. In general, latewood fibres showed a higher degree of mechano-sorptive creep than earlywood fibres, and mature wood showed a higher degree of mechano-sorptive creep than juvenile fibres. The difference in mechano-sorptive creep rate between different fibres was shown to be correlated to the differences in fibril angle. The smaller the fibril angle the higher was the mechano-sorptive creep ratio. It was suggested that at fibril angles approaching 45° wood fibres do not exhibit mechano-sorptive creep.     

On the distribution of tree growth stresses

Summary Growth stress distributions in trees are derived using the hypothesis that longitudinal and circumferential growth strains are continuously induced at the periphery of the growing stem. A plane strain combined with pure torsion model is used to compute the internal stresses and strains due to forces and moments caused by the new growth increment. The twisting angle of the pure torsion model is caused by the shear stresses set up in the growth increment as the growth strains are induced along the grain axis and the coupling of axial and torsional effects due to the elastic constants for the inclined grain material. Detailed stress distributions are derived for a range of constant grain angle cases. The extreme sensitivity of the torsional shear distribution to small grain angles is noteworthy.This work was supported in part by NSF Grant ENG 74-02428     

木材蠕变模拟研究概述

综述树种和材性变异、应力水平、温度、含水率等因素对木材蠕变的影响,介绍分析含水率稳定和变化条件下木材蠕变模拟预测等方面的研究进展情况.我国木材蠕变特别是木材的机械吸附蠕变研究尚缺乏系统性,应综合考虑不同的影响因素对木材蠕变进行充分研究,以建立不同条件下木材蠕变预测的模型,为国内木材蠕变研究及木结构建筑的安全和可靠性设计提供基础.     

Mechano-sorptive creep mechanism of wood in compression and bending

Summary A model is introduced which links the mechano-sorptive behaviour of wood subjected to moderate and high compression or bending stresses parallel to grain to the formation of slip planes in the cell wall. Slip plane formation is dependent on the breaking of hydrogen bonds, which process is directly related to the amount of moisture change. The dramatic change of microfibril orientation in slip plane zones cause an increase of the longitudinal shrinkage/swelling and a decrease of the modulus of elasticity. These features of slip plane formation account for both the magnitude and the oscillation of the excessive mechano-sorptive creep associated with compression and bending parallel to grain. A summary is given of the characteristics of the mechano-sorptive effects, and the model is discussed in the light of these effects.The paper is one of the results of a project on the influence of changing moisture content on the mechanical behavior of wood, currently underway in a co-operation between College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, and the Technical University of Denmark. Support for this project is provided by the Danish Technical Research Council and by the USDA C--operative Research Program (proj. 85-FSTY-9-0112). The support is gratefully acknowledged     

Fracture of multiply-bolted joints under lateral force perpendicular to wood grain

The crack initiation and propagation of multiplybolted joints subjected to lateral forces perpendicular to the grain were analyzed. Two types of bolted joint were subjected to lateral loads perpendicular to the grain. One had joints of two bolts aligned with the wood grain (type H), and the other had joints of two or three bolts aligned perpendicular to the grain (type V). The crack initiation and propagation were analyzed by means of the average stress method (ASM) and linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), respectively. The maximum loads calculated by LEFM agreed comparatively well with the experimental results, and it was proved that the LEFM was an appropriate tool to analyze the fracture of multiply-bolted joints subjected to a force perpendicular to the grain. It was also found that the multiply-bolted joints failed with the fracture of the wood before the joints yielded, and that it caused a considerable decrease of the maximum loads. The reduction of strength should be considered in the design of multiply-bolted joints subjected to lateral forces perpendicular to the grain.Part of this work was presented at the annual meeting of the Architectural Institute of Japan, Hikone, September 1996     

Growth stress distribution in leaning trunks of Cryptomeria japonica

The distribution of growth stresses in leaning trunks of Cryptomeria japonica (L.f.) D. Don was determined by measuring the stresses released by the kerf method with strain gauges glued at specified positions along the trunks. Effects of both tree height and peripheral positions on the surface of leaning trunks on surface growth stress were determined. The inner residual growth strains in leaning trunks were also measured. We found high compression stresses in the lower side of leaning trunks that differed greatly from the tensile stresses in normal erect trunks. However, transverse compression stress was found around the tree trunk in both normal and compression wood. In leaning trees, the distribution of internal stresses in the bent trunk portion differed from that in the erect trunk portion, being compressive on the outside and tensile on the inside. The resistant moment introduced by compression stress generated in compression wood is released by the bending of the leaning trunk. The bending stresses are then superimposed on the original internal growth stress. We demonstrated that Poisson's effect of longitudinal stresses should be considered when evaluating transverse surface growth stresses. The existence and intensity of compression wood development can be assessed by growth stress measurements. We conclude that the compressing force of compression wood functions physiologically to give an upward righting response in a leaning trunk.     

Transient moisture effects on wood creep

To gain insight into the physical nature of the coupling between mechanical stress and humidity variations, the behaviour of thin wood strips was studied using specially developed apparatus for creep/recovery and relaxation/blotting-out tests in a controlled humidity environment. The load time and the rate of viscoelastic creep were found to have little influence on mechano-sorptive creep. Moreover, creep trajectory curves for specimens with continuous and interrupted humidity cycles indicated divergence from simple creep-limit behaviour. The effect of transient moisture was also modelled numerically at the molecular level using an idealized cellulose-based composite. Preliminary results suggest that: (i) during free shrinkage, the cellulose chains in elementary fibrils may bend perpendicular to the planes of the hydrogen bonded sheets which form the crystalline lattice; (ii) transient hydrogen bonding between the crystalline cellulose and amorphous polymer owing to the introduction or removal of water may accelerate shear slip between the two phases in the presence of an external load. Received 6 July 2000 The financial support of the Swiss Federal Office for Education and Science is gratefully acknowledged.     

Strength properties of thermally modified softwoods and its relation to polymeric structural wood constituents

Thermal modification at relatively high temperatures (ranging from 150 to 260 °C) is an effective method to improve the dimensional stability and resistance against fungal attack. This study was performed to investigate the impact of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of wood. An industrially-used two-stage heat treatment method under relative mild conditions (< 200 °C) was used to treat the boards. Heat treatment revealed a clear effect on the mechanical properties of softwood species. The tensile strength parallel to the grain showed a rather large decrease, whereas the compressive strength parallel to the fibre increased after heat treatment. The bending strength, which is a combination of the tensile stress, compressive stress and shear stress, was lower after heat treatment. This decrease was less than the decrease of only the tensile strength. The impact strength showed a rather large decrease after heat treatment. An increase of the modulus of elasticity during the bending test has been noticed after heat treatment. Changes and/or modifications of the main wood components appear to be involved in the effects of heat treatment on the mechanical properties. The possible effect of degradation and modification of hemicelluloses, degradation and/or crystallization of amorphous cellulose, and polycondensation reactions of lignin on the mechanical properties of heat treated wood have been discussed. The effect of natural defects, such as knots, resin pockets, abnormal slope of grain and reaction wood, on the strength properties of wood appeared to be affected by heat treatment. Nevertheless, heat treated timber shows potential for use in constructions, but it is important to carefully consider the stresses that occur in a construction and some practical consequences when heat treated timber is used.