Hygro-mechanical analysis of wood subjected to constant mechanical load and varying relative humidity

Abstract

AbstractA hygro-mechanical (H-M) analysis of a wooden specimen sustaining a mechanical load while subjected to varying relative humidity was performed to predict the long-term rheological behavior of wood. The numerical analysis was based on the experimental results of total strains, monitored in two orthotropic material directions on oak wood specimens under constant uniaxial compression and with moisture content (MC) variation. For the moisture analysis, a multi-Fickian moisture transport model (MFMTM) was used to obtain temporal and spatial MC fields, which were the input data in the mechanical analysis. The presented mechanical model assumed a decomposition of the total strains into the elastic, viscoelastic and mechanosorptive strains and the strains due to shrinkage and swelling. The moisture and mechanical analyses required material parameters, which were taken from the literature or were empirically obtained by a fitting procedure. The performed H-M analysis gave accurate numerical predictions of the experimentally obtained total strains in two orthotropic directions simultaneously. Thus, the analysis developed has a high potential for predicting the long-term rheological behavior of timber structures, assuming that the material parameters are determined previously, based on specific, extensive, multidimensional experimental analyses.