Variation of impact bending in the wood of Pinus sylvestris L.

in relation to its position in the tree

p. de Palacios L Garcia Esteban A. Guindeo F. Garcia Fernandez A. Fernandez Canteli N. Navarro

Abstract
The response of the wood of Pinus sylvestris L. to impact bending using the Charpy method was studied in 2940 defect-free, oriented test pieces from the central board of 10 trees felled during scheduled cutting, with the values obtained being related to the position of the test piece in the tree, both from the pith to the outside and in tenns of its height in the tree. For this purpose the absorbed energy was obtained by using an instrumented drop-weight impact tester. The tests were carried out in stable hygrothermic conditions of 655 percent and 202 "C, and the wood was conditioned under the same conditions before testing. The characterisation was carried out on test pieces with a cross section of 20 mm by 20 mm and a length of 150 mm. The results obtained show that impact bending decreases the closer the test piece is to the pith and the higher it is in the tree, with the decrease being greater horizontally than vertically. In addition, it was shown that there is a significant relation between the number of rings and the impact response of the wood.

although impact response tests with the Charpy method have been used extensively on other construction materials. they have not been applied to wood to any great extent. In structurally complex materials like wood, the most appropriate method for studying impact bending behavior is the Charpy method in its instrumented version, with electronic devices that allow the situation of the load on the test piece and its deformation to be known step by step, with sampling frequencies of up to 1 megacycle. (Sims 1988. Blackman and Williams 1999, Tan 2000), In conifers, impact brittleness is attributed to anatomical factors characteristic of earlywood; in fact, when wood is subjected to impact, it undergoes a local deformation at the point of contact, giving rise to microfissures which do not propagate easily due to the differences in the nature of its anatomical elements. In this way the concentration of strains on the edge of the crack which produces the fracture of the material ceases when a discontinuity is reached, with the level of stress having to increase greatly for a new fracture to propagate (Gordon FOREST PRODUCTS JOURNAL
VOL, 58, NO, 3

A,

1968). Similarly, when the fracture propagates perpendicular to the grain, in the radial direction, it tends to slow down when it reaches the earlywood zone (Schniewind and Centeno
1973). The authors are. respectively. Univ. Lecturer (Doctor). Senior Univ. Lecturer. Univ. Professor, and Associate Lecturer, Universidad Polilecnica de Madrid, Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieros de Montes. Departaniento de Ingenieria Forestal. Catedra de Tecnologia de la Madera. Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid. Spain (paloma.depa!acios(a;upm.es, luis,garciai^Jupm,es, antonio. guindeoi^upm.es. francisco,gareia@upni.es); Univ. Professor. Universidad de Oviedo. Escuela Politecnica Superior de Ingenieria. Departamciito de Conslruccion e Ingenieria de Fabricacion. Campus de Viesques. Gijon. Spain (afc(a)uniovi,cs); and Senior Univ, Lecturer, Universidad Politecnica dc Madrid. Escuela Universitaria de Arquiteetura Tecniea, Departaniento de Construcciones Arquitectonicas y su Control. Catedra de Construccion III. Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Madrid. Spain (nieves.navarroCuJupm.cs). This paper was received for publication in .lune 2007. Article No, 10371, Forest Products Society 2008. Forest Prod. J.58(3):55-60.

55

Figure 1. Obtaining test pieces.

One of the indicators most commonly used to evaluate wood toughness is specific weight (Kolimann 1951), although on other occasions ring width has been considered a better indicator for toughness than specific weight, primarily in conifers. In fact, the presence ofjuvenile wood modifies the specific weight of latewood in the early years of tree growth, affecting response to impact bending. Other factors such as slope of grain greatly reduce the energy absorbed on impact (Bodig and Jayne 1993). The combination of these factors affects the energy absorbed during mechanical tests, with it being difficult to detemiine the effect of a single one of the variables involved. This is why defect-free, oriented test pieces with straight grain were used in this study, and the test pieces belonging to juvenile and mature wood were differentiated. Although the variation of wood properties in the trunk is a rule rather than an exception, the variation models can differ greatly between genera and species (Burdon et al, 2004). For this reason, and because the wood oi'Pinus sylvestris L. is one of the most commonly used woods in construction, the variation of dynamic response of defect-free, oriented wood was studied according to its position in the tree, both from the pith to the outside and in terms of its height in the tree. Knowledge of this variation enables the selection of more appropriate pieces of wood in consideration of their position in the tree, for use in high dynamic stresses, for example in end-notched beams, holes in beams and other problems related to tension perpendicular to the grain.
56

Figure 2. DART TESTER drop-weight machine.

Materials and methods The wood was obtained fiom 10 Pinus sylvestris L. trees in the Valsain Forest in Segovia, Spain, from region of provenance 10 in Sierra dcGuadarrama (Catalan 1991). From each tree the first 10 m of trunk were used, with the first 2-m log being removed in order to avoid disperse data (Baonza et al. 2001, Climent et al. 2003, Xu and Walker 2004). Some
MARCH 2006

autbors attribute this abnormal behavior to the fact that the cell wall microfibrils have a greater angle in the lower part of tbe trunk ihan in the higher part (Donalson 1992, Evans et al, 2001, Evans and Kibblewhite 2002). In fact, physical-mechanical

characteristics are usually obtained from breast height, although some standards are more restrictive and require heigbts of between 2 and 4 ni from the base (Giiler et al. 2004). A single radial board was obtained,, 5-cm thick throughout its length, Tbe board was cut into 1.12-m sections, from which strips of wood were obtained from the pith to the outside of the trunk, with a cross section of 35 by 35 mm. These were dried and conditioned in a chamber at a temperature of 202 C and a relative humidity of 655 percent. Final test pieces of 20 by 20 by 150 mm were then obtained (Fig. 1). A 45'' notch was made in each test piece. 2-mm deep, with a radius of 0.25 mm at the base of tbe notch in accordance with the specifications of the standard Charpy test {ASTM 2005). During the tests the bygrothermic conditions of tbe laboratory were maintained stable at 655 percent and 202 C, because in most species there is a considerable increase in the toughness of the wood both when its moisture content (MC) increases(Gbelmeziu 1938, Bodigand.layne I993)andwhen the temperature increases, provided that the wood bas a bigh MC. as wilh a low MC toughness decreases when the temperature increases (Zerbe 1956). Once the test bad been carried out, the MC of the wood was detennined in order to check that the results could be compared. This was carried out in an oven at 1O32 C to anhydrous state (AENOR 2002). In order to assess the impact bending the instrumented Cbarpy method was used, by means of a DART TESTER drop-weight tester of the CEAST brand (Fig. 2) and a DAS4000 data acquisition program, using a hammer with a mass of 3200 g and a drop height of 1000 mm. A striking tip with a radius of 1.5 mm was chosen. This parameter proved to have a major influence on tbe energy transmitted (Tanaka et al, 1995). The distance between supports was chosen as 100 mm (Fig. 3), Tbe total energy of the test piece fracture process was obtained by the integration of the force curve throughout tbe displacement of the test piece from the initial moment of impact until fracturing {Fig. 4).
Tenwetute'C

Figure 3. Detail of the test.

TettrWM 5853 GOOOMalwiillD IMPACTD

5500500045004000J3500*g3000i 2500200015001000500r

y
(

For the speed, Kalthoffs {1996) recommendations were taken into consideration. Tbe fit of the response was done by reducing the force of impact until the grapb was achieved. The Charpy testing method was chosen because the support system at tbe two ends of tbe test piece removes the effect caused by clamping in the Izod method (McCowan et al. 2000). Deflexion during the test was determined using Eq. [I]:

1
a6 Q8 1.0 1,2 H

1
where:
I S 3,8 4,0 l.S 1,8 ZO Z2 Z4 timelaitl Z6 2.8 10 12 14

0.0 0.2 Q4

Scald of Y A m
V min (JO Y max GOOOtl

PornU daiinilian XFp di

Force (N) 354900

t [mi] 1207

Curtot vJue i d |irm) v(m/i] 483 3 34

E!J] 1115

Pojm 17081 32 18

innn

rp

Figure 4. Instrumented response diagram.

V = deformation of the test piece . at the point of impact V,, ^ initial pendulum velocity m ^ pendulum mass F = force indicated by tbe strain gauge / = time interval from the initial moment at which the load is applied to the test piece
57

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VOL, 58. No.

lable 1. Energy values (J).

Strip (x <r)

Table 2. Mean number of rings per strip and estimated age of the strip.
5 ,6

Log 6.24 5.02 4,44 3.72 3.59 3.00 3.41

1,2 3.81 2,61 2,41 2,15 1,53 1,70 2,07

3,4

7 11.05 4.35 10.28 4,39 8.83 4.23 9.99 3.50 9.39 3.35 9.01 3.30 8.34 2,72 Mean Std. deviation Estimated age

Strip 1,2 7.03 3.61 12

Strip 3,4 8.26 3.68 26

Strip 5.6
11.40 4.50 46

Strip 7,8 18.97 8.63 80

8.99 7,79 7.13 6,97 6,49 6,06 5,42

4.10 3,99 3.98 3,67 3.45 3,27 2,33

9.85 9.42 9.16 9.03 9.19 8,27 8.40

3,94 4,02 4.20 3,71 3.47 3,29 2.70

12 10
> D) 0) C LU 8 6 4 2 -

-1 --

^ - - ^ -I-^

Strip (1.2) (3,4) (5,6) (7,8)

a>
LiJ

-f
I.

1.2

3,4

5,6

Strip
2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Figure 6. Variation of the energy for each log in terms of the strip of wood, with LSD confidence intervais at 95 percent.

Log
Figure 5. Variation of the energy of each strip in terms of the log, with LSD confidence inten/als at 95 percent.

The energy eonsumed until a specific defomiation was calculated by Eq. [2]: [2] The symmetrical test pieces located on either side of the pith were dealt with together, as their behavior is not significantly different (Evans et al. 2000). For the statistical study of the resuhs a two-way analysis of variance was carried out. considering the principal effects to be the tree, the log and the strips of wood tested, and an LSD mean test was carried out. A model was developed by using a regression fit in order to explain the variation of energy in the radial and longitudinal directions of the trees. Finally, a model is proposed to relate the value of the energy at any point of the tree to the variables of force, log, strip and number of rings through a multiple linear regression analysis.

affirmation eoincides with studies made by other researchers, which demonstrate that response to impact bending is greater the greater the density of the wood is (Koch 1985), and greater in mature wood than in juvenile wood (Evans et al. 2000). In fact, strips (1,2) (3,4) and (5.6) show characteristics of juvenile wood, while strips (7,8) begin to lose these characteristics. Figure 6 shows a deerease of the energy curves for each log as the height increases, which is also confirmed by other authors (Niklas 1997), attaining a clearly defined asymptotic tendency, similar to that studied in Pinus Radiata for MOE by Burdon et al. (2004). An increase in the value obtained the further the strip is from the pith is also observed, with this tendency decreasing after strips (5.6). It ean also be observed that except for one isolated point (strips 3,4; log 2) the data as a whole cannot be considered significantly different, although it would be if logs at two extremes, such as 2 and 8, were compared. The regression fit to explain the variation of the energy in the radial and longitudinal directions forstrips( 1.2), (3,4) and (5,6) gave rise to a potential function, and for strips (7,8) it gave rise to an exponential function (Fig. 7) whose coefficients are shown in Table 3 with the 95 percent confidence intervals. Multiple linear regression analysis enables Eq. [3] to be defined as a model for obtaining the energy value: Energy -ax trunk + hx force + ex strip + dx ring + e [3]

Results and discussion

Table 1 shows the mean values of energy (J) grouped by log and strip. The statistical analysis carried out for the energy variable shows that the effects of tree, log, and strip, as well as the interactions between them, are highly significant. Figure 5 shows that for strips (1.2) and (3.4). the lowest energy values were obtained. In addition, except for strips (3,4) of log 2, the values are significantly different from each other and from the remaining strips. For strips (5,6) and (7.8) it can be seen that there is no difference between the values except for the occasional specific point. This tendency continues toward the outside, as was observed in the logs from whieh it was po.ssible to obtain more strips. These results are in correlation with the number of growth rings of each strip (Table 2), with higher values being obtained as the number of ringsand consequently the densityincreases. This
58

where the coefficients, as well as the 95 pereent eonfidenee intervals and the /j-value of each parameter, are shown in Table 4. In accordance with the coefficient R^ the model would explain 85.8 percent of the variability of the energy, with all parameters, in addition, being significant for a level of eonfidenee of over 99 pereent. Although it was determined that the dynamic response of the wood is related to its density and the presence of juvenile
MARCH 2OO8

strip 1.2 fitted strip 1.2 strip 3.4 fitted strip 3.4 strip 5.6 fitted strip 5.6 strip 7.8 fitted strip 7.8

Conclusions There is a statistically significant relation in the wood of Pinus sylvestris between the number of rings per eentimeter and the energy absorbed by dynamic response of the wood, with the variation being greater the lower the number of rings is. The response of the wood on impact increases the further the test piece is from the pith, and it deereases the higher the test piece is in the tree. Pieces of wood subjected to high dynamie stresses must come from the lower logs (exeluding the basal log) and must contain as little juvenile wood as possible.

Literature cited
Atnerican See. for Testing and Materials (ASTM). 2005. Standard test methods for determining Ihe Izod pendulum impact resistance of plastics. ASTM D-256-05. ASTM. West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. 20 pp. Asociaeion Espafiola de Normalizaeion (AENOR). 2002. Moisture content of a piece of sawn timber. Part I. Determination by oven dry method- UNE-EN 13183-1:02 AENOR. 8 pp. Baonza. M.V.. A. Gutierrez, and J.M. Grau. 2001. Variations in density, humidity, heartwood and bark according to Ihe height in the trunk in pino laricio. In: Proe. of the Third Spanish Forest Congress Vol- V. pp. 632 638 (in Spanish). English abstract available. Blackman. B.R.K. and J.G. Williams. 1999- Impact and high rate tcsling of composites: An overview. In: Proe. of the NATO Advanced Sludy Insi. on Mechanics of Composite Materials and Structures. NATO Sci. Series 3 6 1 : 215-224. Bodig, J. and B.A. Jayne. 1993. Mechanics of wood and wood composites. Chapter 6, Dynamic Behavior. Kreiger Publishing Co.. Malahar, Florida.

15

Figure 7. Fitted curves of the variation of energy in height. Table 3. Fitting parameters of the energy variation curves (Fig. 5).
Strip 1,2 3.4 5.6 7.8 Function Coefficient a Coefficient h Cool lie i cut

R-'

9.805(8.083,11.53) -0.5164 (-0.64()S.-(1.3923) 11.3(10.16.12.43) H).3O84 (-0.3751.-0.2417) 10.27(-280.6.301.1) -0.1105 (-3.824.3.603) ll.5i (9.54L 13.48)

0.9562 0.9642 0.3015 (-294-2. 294.8) 0-7699 -0.03684 (-0.0688.-0.0048) 0.6405

Table 4. Fitting parameters of the model of energy variability (Ff = 0.858).

Parameter Log Force Stnp Ring Constant Constants a h c d Value (confidence interval 95%) 0.0612(0.0275.0.0945) 0.0050(0.0049.0.0051) -0.1719 (-0.2505,-0-0933) 0.0771 (0.0657 0.0885) -6.9564 (-7.3087,-6.6041) p-value 0.0004 0.0000
O.fM)OO 0.0000 0.0000

Burdon. R.D.. R.P. Kihblewhite. J.C.E. Walker. R.A. Megraw, R. Evans. and D.J. Cown. 2004. .luvenile versus mature wood: A new eoneept, orthogonal to corcwood versus outcrw-ood. wilh special reference to Pinus radiala and P. laeda- Forest Sci. 5()(4):399-415. Catalan. G. 1991. Regions of origin of Pinus sylvestris L. and Pinus nigra Am. subsp. salzmannii (Dunal) Franco in Spain (in Spanish). INI A and ICONA. Madrid. Spain. Climent. J.. M.R. Chamhe!. L. Gil. and J.A. Pardos. 2003. Vertical heartwood variation panems and prediction of heartwood volume in Pinus canariensis Sm. Forest Ecol. Manag. 174(l-3):203-211. Donalson. L.A. 1992. Within- and between-trce variation in miciofibril angle in Pinus radiata. New Zealand J- of Forestry Sci. 22:77-86F.vans. J.W.. J.F. Scnft. and D.W. Green. 2000. Juvenile wood effeet in red alder: Analysis of physical and mechanical data to delineate juvenile and mature wood zones. Forest Prod. J. 50(7-8):75-87. Evans. R. and R.P. Kibblewhite. 2002. Controlling wood stiffness in plantation softwoods. In: Proe. of 13th international symposium on

or mature wood, further studies will enable the influence of wood anatomy on the dynamic properties to be correlated and quantified through the use of certain anatomical elements (length and tangential diameter of the tracheids. cell wall thickness, juvenile wood, fibril angles, ete).
FOREST PRODUCTS JOURNAL VOL. 5 8 . NO. 3

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non-dcstnjclive testing of u'ood, Univ, of California, Berkeley, Forest Products Soc. Madison, Wisconsin, R, Booker, and R.P, Kibblewhite. 2001. Variation of microfibril angle, density and stiffness in fifty radiata pine trees, ln\ Proc. of 55th annual general Appita conference, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Ghelme^iu. N, 1938. Res. on the impact resistance of timber. Uolz als Roh- und Werkstoff U 15):585-6OI. Gordon. J.H. 1968, The New Sci, of Strong Materials. Penguin Books, 269 pp, Giilcr, C . I. Bektas, and A,M. Basturk. 2004. Some mechanical properties of eastern beech wood. J. of the Inst, of Wood Sci, 16(4):223-229. Kalthoff J,F, 1996. Fundamentals for the assessment of data measured by impact test using notched and precracked Charpy specimens. Internal Rept, Experimentcllc Mcchanik, Ruhr-Universitat Bochum. Koch. P, 1985, Utilization of Hardwoods Growing on Southern Pine Sites. USDA Forest Scrv,. Washington. D,C, Kollmann. F. 1951, Tech, of Wood and Wood Based Materials. Vol. 2. Springer Verlag. Berlin. Germany. McCowan, C,N,. D,P, Vigliotti. and T,A. Siewert, 2000, Evaluation of ABS Plastic Impact Verification Specimens, Pendulum Impact Testing: A Century of Progress, STP 1380, ASTM. pp. 210-217.

Niklas, K.J. 1997. Mechanical properties of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L,) wood. Size and age-dependant variations in sap- and heartwood. Annals Bot-London 79:265-272, Schniewind. A.P. and J,C. Centeno. 1973, Fracture toughness and duration of load fiictor. Wood Fiber Sci, 5{2):I52-I59, Sims, G.D. 1988. Understanding Charpy impact testing of composite laminates. ln\ Proc, of the 6th Inlcr. Conf on Composite Materials 3: 3,494-3,507. Tan. L, 2000, Determining dynamic fracture parameters in composite materials through instrumented Charpy impact testing. PhD thesis, Universidad de Oviedo, Departaniento de Construccion c Ingenieria dc Fabricacion, Madrid, Spain, Tanaka, M,, Y, Ohno. H. Horigome, H. Tani. K, Shiota, and A. Misawa, 1995, Effects of the striking edge radius and asymmetrical strikes on Charpy impact test results. In: Pendulum impact machines: Procedures and specifications for verification, STP 1248, ASTM. Philadelphia, pp, 153-167. Xu. P. and .I,C.F. Walker, 2004. Stiffness gradients in radiata pine trees. Wood Sci, and Tech. 38:1-9, Zerbe, J.I. 1956. Sources of variability encountered in dclcrmining the impact strength of wood and the effect of incremental loading on absorbed energy and elastic properties, thesis. State Univ. of New York, College of Forestry.

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