Abstract The discussion of the importance of the perpendicular tension strength to better understand the wood’s mechanical behavior in several situations, such as shrinkage analysis, glued laminated beam failure analysis, has become clear that more basic input information on tension perpendicular to grain is needed. This work investigated tension perpendicular to grain properties in three different orientations, for radial, tangential and 45-degree directions, using Sugar Maple specimens, and testing methodology according to ASTM D143. In addition, the influence of the density on tension strength values for each direction was analyzed. Furthermore, the failure modes of radial, tangential and inclined specimens are shown and a numerical simulation is presented in order to verify the tendency of the ruptures. From the statistical analysis, it can be concluded that the experimental results of tension perpendicular to grain strength loaded in the radial and tangential directions show a significant statistical difference. Strengths obtained at 45-degrees differ significantly from the other directions.

Due to the natural origin of wood, physical parameters such as specific gravity and the number of growth rings per inch affect its properties. In this study, to evaluate the effect that these physical parameters have on the elastic properties of wood, particularly on elastic modulus, a uniaxial compression test was performed on specimens. These specimens consisted of solid cubes of the Redwood species of wood with a width of 10.16 cm. Three different temperature conditions-ambient temperature (18° C), cold temperature (-28° C) and hot temperature (65° C)-were used to carry out the tests. Specific gravity ranged from 0.29 to 0.45, and the number of growth rings per inch varied from 2 to 24 rings per inch. The minimum moisture content in the specimens was 2%, and reached a maximum of 16% according to the temperature conditions. The results from the statistical analysis indicated that the effect that the number of growth rings per inch has on elastic modulus is more significant than the effects of specific gravity or even of temperature. As a consequence, we suggest that the number of growth rings per inch can be used as a predictor for wood elastic modulus.

Debido al origen natural de la madera, parámetros físicos como la gravedad específica y el número de anillos de crecimiento afectan sus propiedades. En este estudio para evaluar el efecto que estos parámetros físicos tienen sobre las propiedades elásticas de la madera, particularmente en el módulo de elasticidad, ensayos de compresión uniaxial se realizó en especímenes. Estos especímenes consistieron en cubos sólidos de la especie de madera Redwood con lado de 10,16 cm. Tres diferentes condiciones de temperatura, temperatura ambiente (18 ° C), temperatura abajo de cero (-28 ° C) y alta temperatura (65 ° C), fueron utilizados para llevar a cabo las pruebas. La gravedad específica osciló entre 0,29 a 0,45 y el número de anillos de crecimiento varió de 2 a 24 anillos por pulgada. El mínimo contenido de humedad en las muestras fue del 2% y alcanzó un máximo del 16% de acuerdo a las condiciones de temperatura. Los resultados del análisis estadístico indicaron que el efecto que el número de anillos de crecimiento por pulgada tiene en el módulo de elasticidad es más importante que los efectos de la gravedad específica o incluso que el de la temperatura. En consecuencia, se sugiere aquí que el número de anillos de crecimiento por pulgada pueda ser utilizado como predictor del módulo de elasticidad de la madera.