MORPHOLOGY-BASED MODELS FOR WOOD AND WOOD COMPOSITES

Abstract eng:
In this study we are exploring ways to couple experimental measurements with numerical simulations of the mechanical properties of wood. For our numerical simulations we have adopted a discrete element approach, where wood cells or bundles of wood cells may be modeled as discrete elements that interact with other similar elements. Wood cell bundles are modeled as tubular beams having unique strength and stiffness properties. Bundles are connected by additional elements with independent strength and stiffness properties. Effectively the solid piece of wood becomes a structural system that can be analyzed for deformations and damage by conventional methods. The advantage of this approach over a traditional continuum-based approach is that the different physical phenomena that contribute to material behavior can be isolated and measured experimentally. In this preliminary work we seek to numerically simulate both the microstructural changes and the gross load deformation response in small wood specimens subjected to longitudinal and transverse uniaxial tension, and shear. Corresponding microstructural changes are captured by a digital microscopy system. The results show the model to be effective at capturing both microstructural damage and load-deformation response.

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