Evaluation of shear modulus of structural timber utilizing

dynamic excitation and FE analysis

Anders Olsson and Bo Källsner

School of Engineering, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden

Abstract
In this study the results from dynamic excitation of 105 boards of Norway spruce in edgewise
bending are evaluated with respect to shear modulus using the FE method. An advantage of
the method presented here, in relation to the torsion method given in EN 408, is that the
testing is very simple to carry out and also that the shear deformations take place in the same
plane as the deflections due to bending occur.
The analysis of the test results is preliminary. The estimated shear modulus varies
considerably between different boards. No significant correlation between the estimated shear
modulus and the measured static modulus of elasticity was found. No evaluation of the
uncertainties in the estimation of the shear modulus of each board has been carried out yet.

Introduction
In the European standard EN 408 (2010) two different testing methods for determination of
the shear modulus of structural timber and glued laminated timber are given; the torsion
method and the shear field test method. The first method is in the standard said to be
particularly suitable for structural timber while the second one is recommended for laminated
members. A background to the static test methods adopted in EN 408, for determination of the
shear modulus, is given by Brandner et.al. (2007). Another investigation dealing with the
torsion test method is given by Khokhar (2011).
Dynamic modal testing has often been used for determination of strength and stiffness
properties of structural timber. Divos et.al. (1998) present results from vibration testing of
structural timber in both torsion and bending. They emphasize that it is difficult to compare
the various shear modulus measurements because torsion and bending provide completely
different shear stress distributions. This difference and the anisotropy of wood make the
comparison rather complex.
In addition to this may be stated that there is a large variation of the material properties in the
longitudinal direction of structural timber due to the presence of knots and other
inhomogeneity’s. Also within a cross section there is a large variation in the material
properties determined by parameters like the pith position, the annual ring width, possible
compression wood etc.
Dynamic modal testing of structural timber in bending for determination of shear modulus has
been utilized in several studies as e.g. Chui and Smith (1989). The frequencies for two modes
of free bending vibration are used for determination of modulus of elasticity and shear
modulus. The analyses are based on Timoshenko’s beam theory.
The authors of this paper have in a previous investigation, Olsson et.al. (2011), studied how
the prediction of bending strength can be improved by using the test data from various
bending modes for each board. Since this kind of analysis also gives information on the shear
modulus it seems reasonable to make an evaluation of the test data with respect to this
material property.
Aim and scope
The aim of this study is to determine the shear modulus of a number of boards utilizing
resonance frequencies corresponding to edgewise bending modes and to give some measure
on the uncertainty of the values. A second aim is to evaluate the correlation between the shear
modulus and parameters like modulus of elasticity and density.
The material consisted of 105 boards of Norway spruce of dimensions 45×145×3600 mm. All
boards were selected from one sawmill.

Method
In order to simulate free-free boundary conditions each board was suspended in rubber bands.
The FE simulations were carried out as described in Olsson et.al. (2011). The modulus of
elasticity and the shear modulus giving best fit to the resonance frequencies of each board
were calculated.

Results
The analysis of the test results is not complete and should consequently be regarded as
preliminary.
The estimated shear modulus varies considerably between different boards. Using the five
lowest resonance frequencies of each board, results in a mean value of 739 MPa and a
standard deviation of 116 MPa. No significant correlation between the estimated shear
modulus and the measured static modulus of elasticity was found.
No evaluation of the uncertainties in the estimation of the shear modulus of each board has
been carried out yet. Boards with a large variation in material properties are, however,
expected to show higher uncertainties than boards with more homogeneous material
properties.

References
Brandner, R., Gehri, E., Bogensperger, T., Schickhofer, G. (2007) Determination of modulus
of shear and elasticity of glued laminated timber and related examinations, Proceedings of
CIB W18, paper 40-12-2, Bled.

Chui Y.H., Smith I. (1989) Influence of rotary inertia and shear deformation and support
condition on natural frequencies of wooden beams. Wood Sci. Technol. 24: 233-245.

Divos F., Tanaka T., Nagao H., Kato H. (1998) Determination of shear modulus on
construction size timber. Wood Sci. Technol. 32: 393-402.

EN 408 (2010) Timber structures – Structural timber and glued laminated timber –
Determination of some physical and mechanical properties.

Khokhar A.M. (2011) The evaluation of shear properties of timber beams using torsion test
method. PhD thesis, Edinburgh Napier University, UK.

Olsson A., Oscarsson J., Johansson M., Källsner B. (2011) Prediction of timber bending
strength on basis of bending stiffness and material homogeneity assessed from dynamic
excitation. Wood Sci. Technol.