Variability of the Compressive Strength of Parallel Strand Lumber
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 136, Issue 4
Abstract
Measurement of the compressive strength of parallel strand lumber (PSL) is conducted on specimens of varying size with nominally identical mesostructure. The mean of the compressive strength is found to vary inversely with the specimen size, and the coefficient of variation of the strength is found to decrease with increasing specimen size, and to be smaller than the coefficient of variation of strength for solid lumber. The correlation length of the compressive strength is approximately 0.5 m, and this correlation length leads to significant specimen-to-specimen variation in mean strength. A computational model is developed that includes the following properties of the PSL mesostructure: the strand length, the grain angle, the elastic constants, and the parameters of the Tsai-Hill failure surface. The computational model predicts the mean strength and coefficient of variation reasonably well, and predicts the correct form of correlation decay, but overpredicts the correlation length for compressive strength, likely because of sensitivity to the distribution of strand length used in the model. The estimates of the statistics of the PSL compressive strength are useful for reliability analysis of PSL structures, and the computational model, although still in need of further development, can be used in evaluating the effect of mesostructural parameters on PSL compressive strength.
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References
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 136 • Issue 4 • April 2010
Pages: 405 - 412
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 6, 2009
Accepted: Aug 13, 2009
Published online: Mar 15, 2010
Published in print: Apr 2010
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