Evaluation of non-destructive test methods to predict bending properties of thermally modified timber

• Thermally modified wood is available through a number of manufacturers in Europe on today’s market for interior and exterior building products. Thermal modification of wood allows for improvement of dimensional stability and durability, but a considerable decrease in strength properties occurs. Despite this loss in strength, thermally modified wood shows potential to be further exploited in structures exposed to loading. For such applications, accurate prediction of its static bending behaviour is essential. This paper studies the applicability of two different non-destructive test (NDT) techniques in estimating the bending properties of thermally modified timber (TMT). The study was done on 100 Norway spruce logs. One hundred (100) boards (i.e. one from each log) were thermally modified and the mirrored 100 boards were used as controls. After modification, resonance-based and time-of-flight measurements of axial wave velocity were carried out. Subsequently, all 200 boards were bent to failure following European standard EN408. This study shows that although TMT has a lower bending strength than unmodified timber, predictions of bending strength and stiffness using the NDT techniques are possible and with sufficient accuracy. The resonance-based method gave better predictions of the bending properties of TMT in respect to time-of-flight method.

Ämnesord

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Lantbruksvetenskap, skogsbruk och fiske -- Trävetenskap (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -- Wood Science (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Samhällsbyggnadsteknik -- Husbyggnad (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Civil Engineering -- Building Technologies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

ThermoWood®

resonance method

time-of-flight method

four-point bending

Norway spruce

Forestry and Wood Technology

Skog och träteknik

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