This paper introduces, with the development of user-subroutines in the finite-element software Abaqus FEA®, a new practical analysis tool to simulate transient nonlinear moisture transport in wood. The tool is used to revisit the calibration of moisture simulations prior to the simulation of mechanical behaviour in bending subjected to climate change. Often, this calibration does not receive sufficient attention, since the properties and mechanical behaviour are strongly moisture dependent. The calibration of the moisture transport simulation is made with the average volumetric mass data experimentally obtained on a paired specimen of Norway spruce (Picea abies) with the dimensions $$30\times 15\times 640\, {\mathrm{mm}}^{3}$$ 30 × 15 × 640 mm 3 . The data, from a 90-day period, were measured under a constant temperature of 60 °C and systematic relative humidity cycles between 40 and 80%. A practical method based on analytical expressions was used to incorporate hysteresis and scanning behaviour at the boundary surface. The simulation tool makes the single-Fickian model and Neumann boundary condition readily available and the simulations more flexible to different uses. It also allows for a smoother description of inhomogeneity of material. The analysis from the calibration showed that scanning curves associated with hysteresis cannot be neglected in the simulation. The nonlinearity of the analysis indicated that a coherent set of moisture dependent diffusion and surface emission coefficient is necessary for the correct description of moisture gradients and mass transport.

Timber boards manufactured with a traditional sawing pattern often contain both heartwood and sapwood. In such boards, internal constraints can occur during drying because of a radial variation in greenstate (GS) MC between the heartwood (30-60%) and sapwood region (120-200%). Despite such knowledge, the initial MC is seldom considered when evaluating kiln-drying schedules. The effect of GS MC on the development of tangential tensile stress during drying is studied for four types of timber boards. A numerical model was developed that can simulate transient nonlinear orthotropic moisture flow and moisture-induced stress and distortion in wood with the use of the finite element method. The stress analysis considers elastic, hygroscopic, and mechano-sorptive strain. The study shows that the GS MC does not significantly influence the maximum stress state, but that it does influence the time at which the maximum tangential tensile stress occurs at different exchange surfaces. This results in several periods in the drying schedule where unfavorable high stress situations in the tangential direction arise, which could lead to crack propagation.

The empirical test developed as validation for a new beam element model that can account for both mechanical and environmental load action in finite element analysis is presented. The testing protocol allows for the identification and analysis of contributing deflection components in bending under varying MC conditions, including mechano-sorption. The components of deflection in the shear-free span of a four-point bending test and their responses to varying moisture are evaluated with an analytical procedure. The experiment was conducted on clear, straight-grained sapwood and heartwood specimens of Norway spruce (Picea abies) (30 Â 15 Â 640 mm 3 ). The program consisted of three phases: 1) long-term (LT) experiments under constant temperature of 60°C and RH cycles between 40% and 80%, 2) a short-term static experiment to determine the variation in the sample set and the load level of the LT experiment on end-matched specimens, and 3) creep tests at 60°C and constant humidity at either 40% or 80% to determine the effect of moisture on the viscoelastic creep. Mass changes and hygro-expansion measured on matched specimens were used in the analytical method. Constitutive models used for describing the material-level response to loads and moisture changes were applied to the shear-free segment of the specimens disregarding actual moisture gradients and fiber orientation inside the test specimens. A successful identification of each deflection component and isolation of mechano-sorption component was accomplished. In the 90 da of testing, the dominant component of the total deflection was the elastic component, followed by the mechano-sorptive component. Creep was found to be nonnegligible and important in the correct description of mechano-sorption. The effect of moisture on the viscoelastic behavior showed most important during loading and first stages of decreasing deflection rate phase.

A three-dimensional numerical model was employed in simulating nonlinear transient moisture flow in wood and the wood’s hygro-mechanical and visco-elastic behaviour under such conditions. The model was developed using the finite element software Abaqus FEA®, while taking account of the fibre orientation of the wood. The purpose of the study was to assess the ability of the model to simulate the response of wood beams to bending and to the climate of northern Europe. Four-point bending tests of small and clear wood specimens exposed to a constant temperature and to systematic changes in relative humidity were conducted to calibrate the numerical model. A validation of the model was then performed on the basis of a four-point bending test of solid timber beams subjected to natural climatic conditions but sheltered from the direct effects of rain, wind and sunlight. The three-dimensional character of the model enabled a full analysis of the effects of changes in moisture content and in fibre orientation on stress developments in the wood. The results obtained showed a clear distinction between the effects of moisture on the stress developments caused by mechanical loads and the stress developments caused solely by changes in climate. The changes in moisture that occurred were found to have the strongest effect on the stress state that developed in areas in which the tangential direction of the material was aligned with the exchange surface of the beams. Such areas were found to be exposed to high-tension stress during drying and to stress reversal brought about by the uneven drying and shrinkage differences that developed between the outer surface and the inner sections of the beams.