International audienceWood is a natural composite material with a complex multi-scale structure. Its stiffness is mainly due to crystalline cellulose fibrils reinforcing the cell walls. In order to quantify the contribution of cellulose to wood elastic properties in both tension and compression, the change in cellulose (004) lattice spacing (cellulose crystal strain) was measured by X-ray diffraction during a bending test on poplar specimens. A detailed methodology is presented to accurately quantify this cellulose crystal strain. Results show that during elastic loading, cellulose crystal strain is roughly proportional to wood strain. The strain ratio (cellulose crystal strain / wood strain) was close to 0.75, and did not differ significantly in tension and compression. Interpretation of the strain ratio with respect to cellulose orientation shows that part of the wood strain occurs without inducing cellulose crystal strain. This contribution amounts to 10-15% of wood strain, and its possible origin at different levels of wood ultra-structure is discussed

International audienceWood is enjoying increasing popularity in the building sector. In order to fully exploit the potential of this material, particularly in two and three-dimensional structures, improved knowledge of the mechanical behavior of the material and more complex constitutive models are required. We herein present a holistic approach to mechanical material modeling of wood, including a multitude of length scales as well as computational and experimental efforts. This allows to resolve the microstructural origin of the macro- scopic material behavior and to finally apply the gained knowledge to structural applications in a timber engineering framework. Focusing on elastoplasticity and viscoelasticity, exemplary results of the per- formed investigations are presented and their interrelations discussed. Regarding computational approaches, presented developments include multiscale models for prediction of elastic limit states and creep compliances of wood, macroscopic phenomenological models for wood plasticity and the time and moisture-dependent behavior, and their applications to investigations of dowel-joints and glued- laminated timber beams. Accompanying experiments provided additional input data for the computa- tional analyses, therewith completing the set of material properties predicted by the multiscale models. Moreover, they served as the reference basis for model validation at both the material and the structural scale