Abstract
It is well known that in the radial–tangential plane of softwoods, the elastic modulus in the principal directions is clearly higher than the off-axis elastic moduli, which decrease to a minimum at a growth ring angle α of about 45°. However, this angular dependency was experimentally proven by only a few early publications. The aims of this study were (1) to analyze this relationship with up-to-date equipment in compression tests on miniature softwood specimens with varying growth ring angles and (2) to compare the experimental results with those calculated by a tensor transformation to assess whether it is admissible to treat the investigated wood species as orthotropic materials. Two softwoods with distinctly different anatomic structures (Norway spruce and common yew) were chosen, and further properties such as Poisson’s ratios were determined. The results confirm the above-mentioned angle-dependent tendency for spruce elasticity, but also show that it is not valid for softwoods in general since the behavior of yew was completely different. The tissue textures of both species, particularly density and density distribution, were discussed as possible reason for these observed differences. The determined Poisson’s ratios for principal and off-axis load directions may be useful for modeling of material behavior.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bergander A, Salmén L (2000) Variations in transverse fibre wall properties: relations between elastic properties and structure. Holzforschung 54:654–660
Bodig J, Jayne BA (1993) Mechanics of wood and wood composites. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar
Bucur V, Archer RR (1984) Elastic constants for wood by an ultrasonic method. Wood Sci Technol 18:255–265
Burgert I (2000) Die mechanische Bedeutung der Holzstrahlen im lebenden Baum. Dissertation, University of Hamburg
Forest Products Laboratory (2000) Wood handbook—wood as an engineering material. University Press of the Pacific, Honolulu
Grimsel M (1999) Mechanisches Verhalten von Holz: Struktur- und Parameteridentifikation eines anisotropen Werkstoffes. Dissertation, Technische Universität Dresden
Hearmon RFS (1948) The elasticity of wood and plywood. DSIR, For Prod Special Rept No. 7. HMSO, London
Hearmon RFS, Barkas WW (1941) The effect of grain direction on the Young’s moduli and rigidity moduli of beech and Sitka spruce. Proc Phys Soc 53:674–680
Holmberg H (2000) Influence of grain angle on Brinell hardness of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Holz Roh Werkst 58:91–95
Hörig H (1933) Zur Elastizität des Fichtenholzes. 1. Folgerungen aus Messungen von H. Carrington an Spruce. Z Tech Phys 12:369–379
Jenkin CF (1920) Report on materials used in the construction of aircraft engines. London: HMSO (Her Majesty’s Stationery Office)
Kabir MF, Sidek HAA, Daud WM, Khalid K (1997) Effect of moisture content and grain angle on the ultrasonic properties of rubber wood. Holzforschung 51:263–267
Kennedy RW (1968) Wood in transverse compression. For Prod J 18:36–40
Keunecke D, Hering S, Niemz P (2008) Three-dimensional elastic behaviour of common yew and Norway spruce. Wood Sci Technol 42:633–647
Keunecke D, Evans R, Niemz P (2009) Microstructural properties of common yew and Norway spruce determined with Silviscan. IAWA J 30:165–178
Krabbe E (1960) Messungen von Gleit- und Dehnungszahlen an Holzstabchen mit rechteckigen Querschnitten. Dissertation, Hannover, p 106
Lang EM, Bejo L, Szalai J, Kovacs Z, Anderson RB (2002) Orthotropic strength and elasticity of hardwoods in relation to composite manufacture. Part II. Orthotropy of compression strength and elasticity. Wood Fiber Sci 34:350–365
Liu JY (2002) Analysis of off-axis tension test of wood specimens. Wood Fiber Sci 34:205–211
Neuhaus FH (1981) Elastizitätszahlen von Fichtenholz in Abhängigkeit von der Holzfeuchtigkeit. Dissertation, University of Bochum
Neuhaus H (1983) Über das elastische Verhalten von Fichtenholz in Abhängigkeit von der Holzfeuchtigkeit. Holz Roh Werkst 41:21–25
Niemz P (1993) Physik des Holzes und der Holzwerkstoffe. DRW, Leinfelden-Echterdingen
Reiterer A, Stanzl-Tschegg SE (2001) Compressive behaviour of softwood under uniaxial loading at different orientations to the grain. Mech Mater 33:705–715
Sell J (1997) Eigenschaften und Kenngrössen von Holzarten. Baufachverlag, Dietikon
Shipsha A, Berglund LA (2007) Shear coupling effects on stress and strain distributions in wood subjected to transverse compression. Compos Sci Technol 67:1362–1369
Suzuki H, Sasaki E (1990) Effect of grain angle on the ultrasonic velocity of wood. Mokuzai Gakkaishi 36:103–107
Szalai J (1994) A faanyag és faalapú anyagok anizotrop rugalmasság- és szilárdságtana (English title: Anisotropic strength and elasticity of wood and wood based composites), Sopron [in Hungarian]
Van Mier JGM (1997) Fracture processes of concrete: assessment of material parameters for fracture models. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Voigt W (1928) Lehrbuch der Kristallphysik. B.G. Teubner, Leipzig
Wagenführ R (2000) Holzatlas. Fachbuchverlag Leipzig, Munich
Wommelsdorff O (1966) Dehnungs- und Querdehnungszahlen von Hölzern. Dissertation, University of Hannover
Yoshihara H (2009) Prediction of the off-axis stress strain relation of wood under compression loading. Eur J Wood Prod 67:183–188
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is dedicated to Gerd Wegener on the occasion of his retirement as professor at the Technische Universität München.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Garab, J., Keunecke, D., Hering, S. et al. Measurement of standard and off-axis elastic moduli and Poisson’s ratios of spruce and yew wood in the transverse plane. Wood Sci Technol 44, 451–464 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-010-0362-2
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-010-0362-2