Bonding shear strength in timber and GFRP glued with epoxy adhesives

The bonding quality of epoxy glued timber and glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP) was evaluated by means of compression loading shear test. Three timber species (Radiata pine, Laricio pine and Oak) and two kinds of GFRP (plates and rods made with polyester resin reinforced with mat and roving glass fibre) were glued and tested using three epoxy formulations. The increase in shear strength with age after the setting of epoxy formulations and the effect of surface roughness on timber and GRP gluing (the planing of the surface of timber and the previous sanding of GRP) were studied. It can be concluded that the mechanical properties of these products make them suitable for use in the reinforcement of deteriorated timber structures, and that a rough timber surface is preferable to a planed one, while the previous sanding of GRP surfaces is not advantageous.

Visual grading of large cross section structural timber of Pinus sylvestris L. according to UNE 56544:2007 standard

Large cross section structural timber have been used in many structures over long periods of time and still make up an important part of the market due to its mechanical properties. Furthermore, it is frequent its employment in new construction site. It involves the need for a visual grading standard for timber used in construction according to the quality assessment. The material has to satisfy the requirements according to the currently regulations. UNE 56544 is the Spanish visual grading standard for coniferous structural timber. The 2007 version defined a new visual grade in the standard for large section termed Structural Large Timber (MEG). This research checks the new visual grading and consists of 116 structural size specimens of sawn coniferous timber of Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) from Segovia, Spain. The pieces had a cross section of 150 by 200 mm. They were visually graded according to UNE 56544:2007. Also, mechanical properties have been obtained according to standard EN 408. The results show very low output with an excessive percentage of rejected pieces (33%). The main reasons for the rejection of pieces are fissures and twist

Estudio de la variación del contenido de humedad en el Pinus pinaster Ait. por medio de la técnica no destructiva del georradar / Assessment of the variation of the moisture content in the Pinus pinaster Ait using the non destructive gpr technique

La variación en el contenido de humedad (CH) tiene una influencia significativa tanto en las propiedades físico- químicas de la madera, como en sus propiedades electromagnéticas y por tanto afecta a las características de la propagación de las ondas. En concreto, en este trabajo se estudia la capacidad del georradar (GR) empleando una antena de 1.6GHz de frecuencia central para registrar las variaciones que se producen en la velocidad y en la amplitud de las ondas electromagnéticas cuando se propagan en unas viguetas de madera de Pinus pinaster Ait de uso estructural cuyo CH va disminuyendo. Se ha comprobado como cuando el CH descendía la velocidad de propagación y las amplitudes, tanto de la onda directa como de la reflejada aumentaba. Los altos factores de correlación encontrados demuestran que el GR es una técnica capaz de evaluar, de forma no destructiva, el CH de la madera de uso estructural. The moisture content variations in wood have a significant influence in wood?s physicochemical properties, as well as in its electromagnetic properties and to specific effects upon waves? characteristics. In particular, this paper focuses on the analysis of the Ground-penetrating Radar?s (GPR) using an antenna of 1.6 GHz central frequency capacity to register the velocity and the amplitude of the electromagnetic waves? variation during the drying process of Pinus pinaster Ait timber joists. The results showed that when timber MC descended, the propagation velocity and amplitude of both the direct and the reflected wave increased. The high correlation found between the variables studied demonstrates GPR efficiency and the innovative application of this technique as a non-destructive evaluation tool for timber structures, particularly when studying its moisture content.

Análisis de elementos de madera reforzados con materiales compuestos

Gran parte del patrimonio construido cuenta con edificios cuya estructura está compuesta por elementos de madera. El volumen económico que supone el mantenimiento y renovación de dicho patrimonio es considerable, por ello, es de especial interés el estudio de las diferentes técnicas de refuerzo aplicables a este tipo de estructuras. Las estructuras de madera han sido tradicionalmente reforzadas con piezas del mismo material, aumentando la sección de los elementos dañados, o con acero. La aparición de los materiales compuestos de polímeros reforzados con fibras, y su progresiva aplicación en obras de construcción, hizo que a principios de la década de los noventa se comenzara a aplicar este material en refuerzos de estructuras de madera (Puente de Sins, 1992). La madera es un material natural con una excelente relación entre sus características mecánicas y su peso. Con el uso de materiales compuestos como refuerzo ésta característica se mantiene. En cuanto a su modelo constitutivo, se admite un comportamiento elástico lineal a tracción paralela a la fibra hasta la rotura, mientras que a compresión, se considera un comportamiento lineal elástico inicial, seguido de un tramo plástico. En vigas de madera aserrada sometidas a flexión predomina el modo de fallo por tracción localizándose la fractura frecuentemente en el canto inferior. Los FRP tienen un comportamiento elástico lineal a tracción hasta la rotura y cuentan con excelentes propiedades mecánicas en relación a su peso y volumen. Si se refuerza la viga por el canto inferior se aumentará su capacidad de absorber tracciones y por tanto, es previsible que se produzca un incremento en la capacidad de carga, así como un aumento de ductilidad. En este trabajo se analizan los beneficios que aportan distintos sistemas de refuerzos de materiales compuestos. El objetivo es contribuir al conocimiento de esta técnica para la recuperación o aumento de las propiedades resistentes de elementos de madera sometidos a flexión. Se ha llevado a cabo un estudio basado en datos obtenidos experimentalmente mediante el ensayo a flexión de vigas de madera de pino silvestre reforzadas con materiales compuestos. Las fibras que componen los tejidos utilizados para la ejecución de los refuerzos son de basalto y de carbono. En el caso de los compuestos de fibra de basalto se aplican en distintos gramajes, y los de carbono en tejido unidireccional y bidireccional. Se analiza el comportamiento de las vigas según las variables de refuerzo aplicadas y se comparan con los resultados de vigas ensayadas sin reforzar. Además se comprueba el ajuste del modelo de cálculo no lineal aplicado para predecir la carga de rotura de cada viga reforzada. Con este trabajo queda demostrado el buen funcionamiento del FRP de fibra de basalto aplicado en el refuerzo de vigas de madera y de los tejidos de carbono bidireccionales con respecto a los unidireccionales. ABSTRACT Many of the buildings of the built heritage include a structure composed by timber elements. The economic volume involved in the maintenance and renewal of this built heritage is considerable, therefore, the study of the different reinforcement techniques applicable to this type of structure is of special interest. The wooden structures have traditionally been reinforced either with steel or with pieces of the same material, increasing the section of the damaged parts. The emergence of polymer composites reinforced with fibers, and their progressive use in construction, started to be applied as reinforcement in timber structures at the beginning of the nineties decade in the 20th century (Sins Bridge, 1992). Wood is a natural material with an excellent ratio between its mechanic characteristics and its weight. This feature is maintained with the use of composites as reinforcement. In terms of its constitutive model, linear elastic behavior parallel to the fiber up to fracture is admitted when subjected to tensile stress, while under compression, an initial linear elastic behavior, followed by a section plasticizing, is considered. In sawn timber beams subjected to bending, the predominant failure is mainly due to tensile stress; and frequently the fracture is located at the beam lower face. The FRP have a linear elastic behavior until fracture occurs, and have excellent mechanical properties in relation to their weight and volume. If the beam is reinforced by its lower face, its capacity to absorb tensile stresses will increase, and therefore, an increase in its carrying capacity is likely to be produced, as well as an increase in ductility. This work analyzes the benefits different reinforcement systems of composite materials provide, with the aim of contributing to the knowledge of this technique for recovering or increasing the strength properties of timber elements subjected to bending loads. It is a study based on data obtained experimentally using bending tests of pine timber beams reinforced with composite materials. Fibers used for the execution of the reinforcement are basalt and carbon. Basalt fiber composites are applied in different grammages, whereas with carbon composites, unidirectional and bidirectional fabrics are used. The behavior of the beams was analyzed regarding the reinforcement variables applied, and the results are compared with those of the tested beams without reinforcement. Furthermore it has been proved adjunting the nonlinear calculation model applied to predict the failure load of each reinforced beam. This work proves the good behavior of fiber reinforce plastic (FRP) with basalt fiber when applied to timber beams, and that of bidirectional carbon fabrics as opposed to the unidirectional ones.

NDT to identify biological damage in wood

Nondestructive techniques are widely used to assess existing timber structures. The models proposed for these methods are usually performed in the laboratory using small clear wood specimens. But in real situations many anomalies, defects and biological damage are found in wood. In these cases the existing models only indicate that the values are outside normality without providing any other information. To solve this problem, a study of non-destructive probing methods for wood was performed, testing the behaviour of four different techniques (penetration resistance, pullout resistance, drill resistance and chip drill extraction) on wood samples with different biological damage, simulating an in-situ test. The wood samples were obtained from existing Spanish timber structures with biotic damage caused by borer insects, termites, brown rot and white rot. The study concludes that all of the methods offer more or less detailed information about the degree of deterioration of wood, but that the first two methods (penetration and pullout resistance) cannot distinguish between pathologies. On the other hand, drill resistance and chip drill extraction make it possible to differentiate pathologies and even to identify species or damage location. Finally, the techniques used were compared to characterize their advantages and disadvantages.

The effect of moisture content on nondestructive probing measurements

When assessing existing timber structures it is not possible to obtain density as the ratio mass/volume, so nondestructive probing methods are used to predict density. As in other nondestructive techniques, moisture content influences measurements. The goal of this paper is to study the influence of timber moisture content on two nondestructive probing techniques (penetration resistance and pullout resistance). 25 large cross section specimens of laricio pine from Spain were measured. The moisture content ranged from 65.1% to 8.3%. Penetration depth decreases and screw withdrawal strength increases when moisture content decreases below the fiber saturation point. There are lineal tendencies in both techniques. No moisture content influence was found in measures above fiber saturation point.

Análisis comparativo de procedimientos para la medición de las gemas y evaluación de su influencia en la determinación de las propiedades mecánicas de la madera de Pinus sylvestris L. de gran escuadría. Comparison of wanes measurement systems to evaluate their influence on the mechanical properties of large cross section timber of Pinus sylvestris L.

Las gemas se evalúan mediante la norma de clasificación visual (UNE 56544), pero su aplicación en estructuras existentes y grandes escuadrías resulta poco eficaz y conduce a estimaciones demasiado conservadoras. Este trabajo analiza la influencia de las gemas comparando la resistencia de piezas con gemas y piezas correctamente escuadradas. Se han analizado 218 piezas de pino silvestre con dimensiones nominales 150 x 200 x 4.200 mm, de las que 102 presentaban una gema completa a lo largo de toda su longitud y el resto estaban correctamente escuadradas. En las piezas con gema se ha medido la altura de la sección cada 30 cm (altura en cada cara y altura máxima). Para determinar la resistencia se han ensayado todas las piezas de acuerdo a la norma EN 408. Se ha comparado la resistencia obtenida para las piezas con gema, diferenciando si la gema se encuentra en el borde comprimido o en el borde traccionado, con las piezas escuadradas. Puede concluirse que la presencia de gemas disminuye la resistencia excepto si la gema se encuentra en el borde traccionado, en cuyo caso los resultados obtenidos han sido similares a los de las piezas escuadradas. The wanes on structural timber are evaluated according to the visual grading standard (UNE 56544), but its application on existing structures and large cross sections is ineffective and leads to conservative estimations. This paper analyzes the influence of the wanes by comparing the resistance of pieces with wanes and square pieces. 218 pieces of Scotch pine with nominal dimensions 150 x 200 x 4200 mm have been analyzed, 102 of them had a complete wane along its length and the rest were properly squared. The height of the cross section was measured every 30 cm (the height on each side and the maximum height) for the pieces with wane. The bending strength of all the pieces was obtained according to the EN 408 standard. The bending strength of the pieces with wane has been compared with the strength of the squared pieces, taking into account if the wane is positioned on the compressed edge or on the tensioned edge. It can be concluded that the bending strength of the pieces with wanes is lower than the one of squared pieces, except if the wanes are on the tensioned edge of the beam.

Study of the increase in bending stiffness on timber beams reinforced with composite materials

It is common to find structures that need to be reinforced due to deterioration or because the function of the building changes. The economic cost involved in these forms of interventions is considerable. Therefore, it is interesting to progress in the existing strengthening techniques and the study of new reinforcement systems. This paper analyses the behaviour of timber beams reinforced with carbon and basalt fiber composite materials. The main objective of this study is to test the stiffness increase produced by the carbon and basalt FRP on reinforced beams. The results show the stiffness increase produced by the different types of reinforcement.