Blue gum: assessment of its potential for glued laminated timber beams
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Blue gum: assessment of its potential for glued laminated timber beams Carlos Martins1 · Alfredo M. P. G. Dias1 · Helena Cruz2 Received: 13 September 2019 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Portuguese forests are mainly composed of hardwoods, which represent 69% of the forest area in 2010, being Blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus Labill.) the most abundant species (26%). The suitability of Blue gum for structural applications was demonstrated in previous studies. However, the most common uses are still related to the pulp and paper industry as well as energy production, mainly due to sawing and drying issues. The present paper describes a preliminary study on the potential application of non-destructive tests and analytical methods to predict the most important mechanical properties of glued laminated timber (glulam) beams made of Blue gum. The potential of mixed beams made of Blue gum and poplar was also analysed. The longitudinal vibration method and the transformed section method were considered. A total of 11 non-finger jointed full-scale glulam beams (7 of Blue gum and 4 mixed) were manufactured in the laboratory and tested for modulus of elasticity and bending strength assessment. After the bending tests, the density and moisture content of the beams were determined, and the bonding performance was checked by delamination and shear strength tests. Correlation coefficients were established between the predicted values and the experimentally assessed mechanical properties, indicating a huge potential of the predictive methods used. The mechanical properties of non-finger jointed beams tested were above the typical values found in the literature for the most common hardwoods available in European forest.
1 Introduction Blue gum is a fast-growing hardwood species that presents interesting physical and mechanical properties. Besides, it is the dominant species in the Portuguese forest, occupying 26% of the forest area (ICNF 2013). Its most common uses are the pulp and paper industry and energy production, whereas its potential for higher added-value applications, like furniture, flooring or load-bearing structures is largely * Carlos Martins [email protected] Alfredo M. P. G. Dias [email protected] Helena Cruz [email protected] 1
Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering, Universidade de Coimbra, Rua Luís Reis Santos‑Pólo II da Universidade de Coimbra, 3030‑788 Coimbra, Portugal
Structures Department, Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil, Av. do Brasil, 101, 1700‑ 066 Lisboa, Portugal
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unknown. The little use of Blue gum as a structural material is typically associated with difficulties regarding sawing and drying processes (Franke and Marto 2014). Nevertheless, some studies have been performed in the last two decades to promote the use of Blue gum in structural applications. Touza Vásquez and Pedras Saavedra (2002) presented a proposal fo
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