Experimental and Numerical Investigation on Compression Creep Behavior of Wood

Abstract

Abstract This article provides an efficient and intuitive way to predict the long-term (12-h) compression creep behavior of wood by a finite element method (FEM). In this study, oriental beech (Fagus orientalis L.) was used as an example. First, a short-term (3-h) compression creep experiment was conducted to obtain the original creep data of beech, and then a Kelvin model (KM) with two elements in series was applied to fit the curve of creep strain and time to calculate parameters used in FEM. Second, long-term compression creep behavior was numerically analyzed by the FEM based on the short-term creep data. Finally, the results of the FEM and the KM were compared with that of the long-term creep experiment. The results showed that the creep deformations increased in the order of longitudinal (L), radial (R), and tangential (T) directions under the same loading level, and the creep behavior of beech in the L direction stopped after a short time and stayed constant. Additionally, in the same orientation, the creep deformation increased with the growth of loading levels below the ultimate creep strength. In addition, the KM did not work well for predicting the long-term creep behavior of beech. By contrast, the results of FEM were highly consistent with those of the experiment, and errors in L, R, and T directions were all less than the standard deviation. As a result, the numerical method provided acceptable accuracy to predict the long-term creep behavior of wood construction and wood products.