Experimental Evaluation of Mode II fracture Properties of Eucalyptus globulus L.

Almudena Majano-Majano,José Xavier,Antonio José Lara-Bocanegra,José Morais

doi:10.3390/ma13030745

Abstract

Eucalyptus globulus Labill is a hardwood species of broad growth in temperate climates, which is receiving increasing interest for structural applications due to its high mechanical properties. Knowing the fracture behaviour is crucial to predict, through finite element models, the load carrying capacity of engineering designs with possibility of brittle failures such as elements with holes, notches, or certain types of joints. This behaviour can be adequately modelled on a macroscopic scale by the constitutive cohesive law. A direct identification of the cohesive law of Eucalyptus globulus L. in Mode II was performed by combining end-notched flexure (ENF) tests with digital image correlation (DIC) for radial-longitudinal crack propagation system. The critical strain energy release for this fracture mode, which represents the material toughness to crack-growth, was determined by applying the Compliance Based Beam Method (CBBM) as data reduction scheme and resulted in a mean value of 1.54 N/mm.

Highlights

For a policy of sustainability, engineering applications employing wood and wood-based products are receiving major interest in recent years due mainly to their environmental advantages
This study addressed the direct identification of cohesive law of Eucalyptus globulus L. in
The fracture properties in Mode II of Eucalyptus globulus L. in RL crack propagation system were experimentally determined by coupling end-notched flexure (ENF) tests with digital image correlation

Summary

Introduction

For a policy of sustainability, engineering applications employing wood and wood-based products are receiving major interest in recent years due mainly to their environmental advantages. Softwood species such as spruce and pine have been deeply studied because of their wide availability. The increase in forest area dedicated to temperate hardwoods and the need to increase timber supply in the market are encouraging different European countries to explore the potential of these species for use in construction and, especially, for application as structural elements. The use of timber and its derivative products for structural purposes requires knowing the response of the material to all possible loading situations, especially those that may produce brittle failures. Regarding the analysis of these situations, an energetic approach, in the framework of fracture mechanics, results very suitable

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