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Time-dependent deflection of Douglas fir beams in bending and shear modes

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Title Time-dependent deflection of Douglas fir beams in bending and shear modes
Names Capell, Harry Thomas (creator)
Peterson, John (advisor)
Date Issued 1966-08-29 (iso8601)
Note Graduation date: 1967
Abstract Creep in wood has been observed since 1833 but only recently
has it been studied quantitatively. The aim of this paper is to study
the time-dependent deflections of Douglas fir, Coast Region beams
in bending and shear modes. The general method of approach used is
that of large scale observation.
Three straight-grained clear wood specimens were used for
testing. The beams were simply supported and loaded at the quarter
span points, thus, each beam had a section of pure bending moment
and sections of constant shear with linearly varying bending moment.
The beams had a 40 inch span with a width of 1-1/2 inches and a depth
of 3-1/2 inches. The maximum stresses induced were f = 1370 psi
and v = 120 psi. The moisture content of the wood was brought down
to approximately seven percent and the beams were placed in a testing
environment of approximately uniform relative humidity and temperature.
Deflection data were collected for the quarter span and mid-span points. These measurements were made for 70 days at which
time the creep rate had decreased to a very small value. The time-dependent deflections were plotted versus log time in days.
These curves showed, as expected, that creep varies linearly
with the log of time. The final values of creep were 14 percent of the
initial elastic deflections. The concept of effective moduli was used
to compare the bending and shear contributions to the creep behavior.
The elastic shear deflection of beam #1 appears to have been partially
recovered with time. Creep due to shear in beam #2 remained in the
approximate ratio of its contribution to the elastic deflection. This
lack of correlation made definite conclusions unattainable. The results
suggest that the shear and bending modes of creep behavior are
dependent upon different variables of the internal structure.
It is obvious to the author that more sophisticated and complex
methods must be used to thoroughly investigate the time-dependent
deflections of wood.
Genre Thesis/Dissertation
Topic Douglas fir
Identifier http://hdl.handle.net/1957/47326

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