OPEN ACCESS
The Douglas is one of the most used species in France, especially in the Auvergne-Rhone Alpes Regions. This species found in unprotected outdoor environment is a major resource for the wood industry. However, variations in moisture content (MC), relative humidity (HR) and temperature (T) coupled with creep, can weaken its mechanical resistance. The main objective of this work is to study the mechanical behaviour of cracked wood beams under climate changes (T, HR and MC), the long-term loadings and the defects of wood (cracks, knots, orientation of annual rings etc). In this study, the evolutions of the crack length and the crack opening are presented. The results show the influence of climatic changes on the sustainability of timber structures of Douglas beams.
climatic changes, crack propagations, douglas
[1] Chaplain, M. & Valentin, G., Effects of relative humidity conditions on crack propagation in timber: Experiments and modeling. World conference Timber Engineering, pp. 1–8, 2010.
[2] EN 1995, EUROCODE 5: Design of timber structures – Part 1-1: General – commons rules and rules for buildings, 2004.
[3] Pambou Nziengui, C.F., Moutou Pitti, R., Fournely, E., Godi, G. & Dubois, F., Mechanical characterization of European species: Picea Alba mill and Douglas fir, SEMC, Cap-Town, September 2016.