Influence of Grain Inclination Angle on Shear Buckling of Laminated Timber Sheathing Products

Abstract

Recent advances in timber production industries have enabled production of new innovative laminated timber products having layers with grain inclination angle. This paper is aimed to study influence of grain inclination angle in the laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and plywood sheathings on their shear buckling loads. Two extreme edge conditions of simply supported and clamped edges are considered. First, an accurate differential quadrature (DQ) computational code is developed using MAPLE programming software to obtain eigen buckling values and their corresponding eigen mode shapes. Next, for convenience of engineering calculations, approximate algebraic formulae are presented to predict critical shear buckling loads and mode shapes of LVL and plywood panels having layers with grain inclination angle, with adequate accuracy. Furthermore, finite element (FE) modelling is conducted for several cases using ANSYS software to show validity and accuracy of the predicted results for the problem. It is shown that the highest shear buckling loads of LVL sheathings is achievable when the inclination angle of about 30° with respect to the shorter edges is considered for production of LVL panels, whereas the same angle with respect to the long edges of the LVL sheathings results in a relatively lower buckling load. Considering similar inclination angle with respect to any edges of a plywood sheathings will also results in its highest pre-buckling capacity. It is also demonstrated that, under optimal design and certain loading circumstances, LVL shows a higher shear buckling capacity compared to a similar plywood sheathing.