Effect of residual stress distribution in a log on lumber warp due to sawing: a numerical simulation based on the beam theory

Abstract

When a squared lumber such as a beam and/or a bearer is produced from a log, they often show warps. Warp of the sawn lumber is practically not serious when the pith is located at the center of the cross-section, as in the lumber-with-pith, but causes serious problems in the lumber-without-pith. In the present study, a mechanical model was introduced to explain lumber warping based on beam theory, and a numerical simulation using the introduced model examined how the magnitude and type of the residual stress distribution would affect the warps of the lumbers sawn from the four-sided cants with various sizes and shapes in their cross-sections, and how the different sawing patterns would affect the production efficiency of the straight lumber, which is manufactured from the four-sided cant by quartering and subsequent correction sawing. As a result, the following suggestions were obtained. The warp of the sawn lumber is affected by the type and the magnitude of the inherent strain distribution in the log and furthermore by the cross-sectional shape and/or size of the four-sided cant. Production efficiency of the straight lumbers differs depending on the sawing patterns. In the present study, two types of sawing patterns (a) and (b) were assumed. The sawing pattern (a) gave better production efficiency than the sawing pattern (b) in the sense that straight lumbers are produced with higher volumes as well as with less variation in dimension of the cross-section.