Sigurdur Ormarsson

A numerical study of the shape stability of sawn timber subjected to moisture variation: part 3: influence of annual ring orientation.

Summary Numerical simulations were performed to investigate how the annual ring orientation affects the shape stability of sawn timber. The influence of radial variations in the basic properties and the spiral grain is also studied. The knowledge obtained can contribute to more effective use of the raw material through allowing boards having properties that would yield bad shape stability to be sorted out. Possibilities for improving shape stability through gluing pieces of wood together are examined as well.

A Numerical Study of the Shape Stability of Sawn Timber Subjected to Moisture Variation, Part 2, Simulation of Drying Board

Abstract 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.

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.

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.

Finite-Element Analysis of Coupled Nonlinear Heat and Moisture Transfer in Wood

A nonlinear model for analysing heat and moisture flow in wood during drying below the fiber saturation point is presented. The model used considers wood at a macro level without taking the various moisture transports mechanisms at the microscopic level into account. Based on the finite-element method, a coupled system of equations resulting from the adopted heat and moisture transfer equations is established and an iterative scheme is proposed. The numerical procedure is verified by a test example. In a two-dimensional analysis, the influence of the coupling on the combined heat and moisture transfer is studied for a board subjected to a typical kiln-drying condition. How well the results agree with those obtained by introducing a commonly applied simplification is discussed.

Numerical study of how creep and progressive stiffening affect the growth stress formation in trees

It is not fully understood how much growth stresses affect the final quality of solid timber products in terms of, e.g. shape stability. It is, for example, difficult to predict the internal growth stress field within the tree stem. Growth stresses are progressively generated during the tree growth and they are highly influenced by climate, biologic and material-related factors. To increase the knowledge of the stress formation, a finite element model was created to study how the growth stresses develop during the tree growth. The model is an axisymmetric general plane strain model where material for all new annual rings is progressively added to the tree during the analysis. The material model used is based on the theory of small strains (where strains refer to the undeformed configuration which is good approximation for strains less than 4%) where so-called biological maturation strains (growth-related strains that form in the wood fibres during their maturation) are used as a driver for the stress generation. It is formulated as an incremental material model that takes into account elastic strain, maturation strain, viscoelastic strain and progressive stiffening of the wood material. The results clearly show how the growth stresses are progressively generated during the tree growth. The inner core becomes more and more compressed, whereas the outer sapwood is subjected to slightly increased tension. The parametric study shows that the growth stresses are highly influenced by the creep behaviour and evolution of parameters such as modulus of elasticity, micro-fibril angle and maturation strain.

Numerical simulation of hot-pressed veneer products: moulding, spring-back and distortion

Abstract Customers demand a very a high quality of veneered furniture products with regard to surface appearance, shape stability and rigidity. To meet these requirements, it is important to improve the manufacturing process by a better understanding of the thermohydromechanical behaviour of the individual veneers. During the manufacture of strongly curved products, the veneers are exposed to large membrane and bending deformations and to a high pressure in the radial fibre direction. When hot-press forming is used, the veneers are also exposed to a high surface temperature during the pressing time (curing time). These severe conditions can result in plastic deformation perpendicular to the veneer surface as well as mechanosorptive strains in the curved regions, since the heating can significantly affect moisture distribution. How strong an influence these factors have on the distortion of the veneered product is far from being fully clarified. To study this complex multiphysical problem including temperature, moisture, large deformations for orthotropic materials, surface constraints and progressive glue interaction, a three-dimensional finite element simulation was performed. In this study, the simulation of deformations and stresses occurring during the manufacture of a curved veneered product (chair seat) of birch wood is described. The results show that heating, pressure and the fibre orientation in the veneers have a significant influence on the distortion of the chair seat.

An experimental study of shape stability in glued boards

An experimental study of shape stability in wooden glued boards was performed to verify certain results of particular interest obtained earlier in numerical simulations. Possibilities for achieving products of good shape stability by gluing boards together in an optimal way are discussed. Since twist is often the most serious form of distortion defects for the user, it was the main type of board deformation considered. Three types of glued products were tested. The experiments show clearly that glued boards can be produced that remain stable in shape when exposed to extreme variations in moisture. The results agree well with the numerical simulations performed earlier. It was found that initial twist could be reduced by proper application of pressure during gluing and that through gluing the occurrence of cracking defects on visible surfaces could be substantially reduced.ZusammenfassungEine experimentelle Untersuchung der Formstabilität von verleimten Brettern wurde durchgeführt, um bestimmte Ergebnisse, die in vorhergehenden numerischen Simulationen errechnet worden waren, zu verifizieren. Es handelt sich um Möglichkeiten, eine gute Formstabilität durch optimales Verleimen von Brettern zu erzielen. Da Verdrehung für den Verbraucher oft den unannehmbarsten Verformungsfehler darstellt, wurde dieser als Hauptfehlertyp berücksichtigt. Drei Arten von verleimten Holzprodukten wurden getestet. Die Experimente zeigen deutlich, dass verleimte Holzbretter hergestellt werden können, die bei extremen Feuchteschwankungen stabil bleiben. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine gute Übereinstimmung mit den vorhergehenden numerischen Simulationen. Es wurde festgestellt, dass eine anfangs vorhandene Verdrehung durch geeignete Druckanwendung während des Verleimens reduziert werden konnte, und das Auftreten von Rissschäden auf sichtbaren Oberflächen durch Verleimen beträchtlich reduziert werden konnte.

Experimental and finite element study of the effect of temperature and moisture on the tangential tensile strength and fracture behavior in timber logs

Abstract Timber is normally dried by kiln drying, in the course of which moisture-induced stresses and fractures can occur. Cracks occur primarily in the radial direction due to tangential tensile strength (TSt) that exceeds the strength of the material. The present article reports on experiments and numerical simulations by finite element modeling (FEM) concerning the TSt and fracture behavior of Norway spruce under various climatic conditions. Thin log disc specimens were studied to simplify the description of the moisture flow in the samples. The specimens designed for TS were acclimatized to a moisture content (MC) of 18% before TSt tests at 20°C, 60°C, and 90°C were carried out. The maximum stress results of the disc simulations by FEM were compared with the experimental strength results at the same temperature levels. There is a rather good agreement between the results of modeling and experiments. The results also illustrate the strong decrease of TSt with increasing temperature at a constant MC level.

NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON INFLUENCE OF COMPRESSION WOOD TIMBER DISTORTION

ABSTRACT In timber exposed to moisture variations, drying distortions is a serious problem that might result into sawn timber and other wood products unsuitable for construction purposes. Two characteristics of wood are that its behaviour is strongly orthotropic and that it is very sensitive to variations in moisture content. In addition, wood is characterised by variation in its properties from pith to bark. A further important property of wood, which affects its behaviour, is its spiral grain. For timber containing much compression wood the drying distortions are also highly dependent upon where the compression wood is located in the sawn boards. The present study concerns an experimental investigation of density, grain angles, shrinkage parameters and longitudinal elastic modulus in a number of spruce boards containing much compression wood. On the basis of the data obtained, numerical simulations have been carried out in order to determine the deformations that developed in the boards during changes in moisture content.