Influence of growth stresses and material properties on distortion of sawn timber - numerical investigation

• The board distortion that occurs during the sawing and the drying process causes major problems in the utilisation of sawn timber. The distortion is highly influenced by parameters such as spiral grain angle, modulus of elasticity, shrinkage, growth stresses and sawing pattern. • In this study a finite element simulation of log sawing and timber drying was performed to study how these parameters interact to affect board distortion. A total of 81 logs with different material combinations were simulated. From each simulated log four boards with different annual ring orientation were studied. • The results showed that the elastic modulus, shrinkage coefficient and growth stresses had a large influence on the final bow and spring deformation. After sawing of the log into boards, the release of growth stresses was the main contributor to the bow and spring deformation. For boards with low modulus of elasticity, the bending distortion became larger than for the boards with high modulus of elasticity. The twist deformation was very small after sawing but increased significantly during drying of the boards. The results showed that spiral grain angle and the board location within the log were the main contributors to the twist deformation.Influence des contraintes de croissance et des propriétés du matériau sur la déformation des sciages. Analyse numérique. • La déformation des planches qui se produit au cours du sciage et du séchage conduit à des difficultés importantes pour l'utilisation des sciages. Les déformations sont très dépendantes de paramètres tels que l'angle du fil, le module d'élasticité, les retraits, les contraintes de croissance et le plan de débit. • Dans cette étude nous avons réalisé une simulation par éléments finis du sciage de billons et de leur séchage pour étudier comment ces paramètres interagissent et affectent la distorsion des planches. Nous avons simulé un total de 81 billons avec différentes combinaisons des propriétés du matériau. Pour chaque billon quatre planches sont simulées avec différentes orientations des limites de cernes. • Les résultats montrent que le module d'élasticité, les coefficients des retraits et les contraintes de croissance ont une grande influence sur la courbure finale de la face et sur la courbure de chant. Après le sciage des billons en planches, la libération des contraintes de croissance est le principal contributeur des deux déformations précédentes. Enfin, on montre que l'angle du fil et la position de la planche dans le billon sont les principales causes du gauchissement

Simulation of wood deformation processes in drying and other types of environmental loading*

Deformation processes in wood exposed to drying and other types of environmental loading are simulated by use of the finite element method. In the material model applied, the orthotropic structure of the wood material is considered. The differences of properties in the longitudinal, radial and tangential directions for stiffness parameters as well as for moisture shrinkage parameters are taken into account. As an illustration of possible application areas, the deformation development of boards during drying is simulated. In the analyses, the influence of spiral grain and the variation of wood properties with the distance from the pith are considered. The simulation yields information about unfavourable deformations that develop during the drying process.Simulation du processus de déformation du bois par séchage et autres types de charges environnementales. Le processus de déformation du bois exposé au séchage et autres types de charges environnementales est simulé par la méthode des éléments finis. La structure orthotropique du bois est prise en considération sur le modèle de matériel utilisé. Les différences existant au niveau des propriétés des directions longitudinales, radiales et tangentielles sont prises en compte pour les paramètres de rigidité et de contraction par humidité. Une des possibilités du champ d'applications est illustrée par le fait que l'évolution de la déformation des planches pendant le séchage est simulée. À l'échelon des analyses, l'influence du grain spiral et la variation des propriétés du bois avec la distance depuis la moelle sont pris en compte. La simulation permet d'obtenir des informations concernant l'évolution des déformations défavorables pendant le processus de séchage

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