Testing of wood shear modulus based on cantilevered square plate torsional vibration method

Abstract

ABSTRACT The application of the energy method has proposed a dynamic testing method for the shear modulus in two mutually perpendicular directions on the principal surface of wood using a cantilevered square plate torsional vibration method. In the study, this method was applied to measure the shear modulus of larch wood in the LT and TL directions, as well as the longitudinal and transverse shear modulus of Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) sheets. The validity of the results was confirmed through experimental verification using the asymmetric four-point bending beam method, the free plate torsional vibration method, and the free square plate torsional mode method. Simulation calculations of the principal shear modulus for six species of trees with width-to-thickness ratios ranging from 10 to 25 were also conducted using this method. The conclusions drawn suggest that a width-to-thickness ratio of 15 for the cantilevered square plate provides sufficient accuracy for testing the principal shear modulus of wood. Furthermore, the difference in shear modulus between two mutually perpendicular directions on the principal surface of wood is dependent on the width-to-thickness ratio of the cantilevered square plate, indicating that this method outperforms other dynamic methods for testing wood shear modulus.