Influence of Exposure Time to Operating Temperature on Shear Strength of Wood Used in Roof Structures

Abstract

Wood is one of the main materials used in the constructing of covering structures (roofs) because of its versatility. Under this situation, due to solar radiation incidence, the temperature can exceed 60 °C and, such as other environmental conditions, influence the mechanical properties of the wood in use. The aim of this research was to study the influence of exposure time of the wood of four different hardwood species at a temperature of 60 °C on the shear strength parallel to fibers. The wood of the following species was used: Cupiúba (Goupia glabra), Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus saligna), Garapeira (Apuleia leiocarpa), and Jatobá Tamarindo (Hymenaea sp.). In order to investigate the effect of exposure time (0, 168, 456, 720, and 2160 hours) of the wood species in an oven (60 °C) on the values of shear strength in the direction parallel to fibers, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out at 5% significance level. According to the results, the time the wood was exposed to the operating temperature significantly influenced the shear strength in the direction parallel to fibers. In addition, all species showed a decrease in shear strength after 456 hours of exposure at a constant temperature of 60 °C.