Investigations on the physical and mechanical behaviour of sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.)

Abstract

Physical and mechanical properties of sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) were extensively investigated as basis for three-dimensional material modelling for structural simulations (e.g., with finite element method) based on this species. The physical properties of swelling, water absorption, water vapour resistance and thermal conductivity were tested and the mechanical properties of tensile, bending and compression strength and of Young's modulus (static and dynamic) as well as of Poisson's ratio, shear strength, shear modulus and fracture toughness were determined. The tests were carried out for most of the features depending on moisture content and also in all three anatomical main directions: longitudinal, radial and tangential. Untersuchungen zum physikalischen und mechanischen Verhalten von Bergahorn (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) Zusammenfassung Die physikalischen und mechanischen Eigenschaften von Bergahorn (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) wurden eingehend untersucht, um eine Grundlage für eine dreidimensionale Materialmodellierung für Struktursimulationen (z.B. mit der Methode der finiten Elemente), basierend auf dieser Holzart, zu schaffen. Bei den physikalischen Eigenschaften wurden das Quellen, die Wasseraufnahme, der Wasserdampfdiffusionswiderstand und die Wärmeleitfähigkeit geprüft sowie bei den mechanischen Eigenschaften die Zug-, Biege-und Druckfestigkeit, der Elastizitätsmodul (statisch und dynamisch), die Poissonzahl, die Scherfestigkeit, der Schubmodul und die Bruchzähigkeit bestimmt. Die Untersuchungen wurden in den meisten Fällen feuchteabhängig durchgeführt und ebenso in allen drei anatomischen Hauptrichtungen: längs, radial und tangential.

Mechanical behavior of walnut (Juglans regia L.) and cherry (Prunus avium L.) wood in tension and compression in all anatomical directions. Revisiting the tensile/compressive stiffness ratios of wood

“…This behavior is well documented in the literature (Kollmann and Coté 1984). Figure 6 and Table 2S illustrate some literature data with this regard (Ozyhar et al 2013;Sonderegger et al 2013;Niemz et al 2014;Jiang et al 2017). In accordance to Kollmann and Coté (1984) concerning several hardwood and softwood species, it is seen that the TStr/CStr ratio varies for different wood species with an average factor of ≈2 at 12% MC.…”

“…The TStr R,T /CStr R,T ratio is also dependent on the way how the CStr R,T is determined. Because of the absence of a Figure 6: Moisture-dependent tension to compression strength ratios (TStr/CStr ratios) of different wood species: walnut and cherry wood (own measurement), beech wood (Ozyhar et al 2013), ash wood (Niemz et al 2014), maple wood (Sonderegger et al 2013) and fir wood (Jiang et al 2017) (see also Supplementary Table 2).…”

Aging effects on physical and mechanical properties of spruce, fir and oak wood

“…The fracture toughness was in the same range as by Märki et al and by Reiterer et al [34,35], but was clearly higher than that of Keunecke et al [36]. The oak values were more than twice as high compared with those of the investigated softwoods and laid between values of beech [37] and sycamore maple [38]. Although the density of the aged oak wood was clearly higher than that of the recent wood, the K IC values were lower in all load directions.…”

Innovative Approach to Sustainable Material Sourcing and Its Impact on Building Performance

“…Although the research on physical and mechanical properties of sycamore as a material have been investigated and reported in the literature [5], none has tested it as the structural material in real building conditions nor monitored its structural integrity in varied moisture conditions over the long period of the time (a longitudinal performance monitoring of at least five years in the Hieron's Wood research project is proposed). Thus, the proposed performance monitoring strategy includes regular testing of its moisture content, condition and integrity of the sycamore structural frame, including measuring the temperature and relative humidity of its immediate environment [6].…”