The role of water in the behavior of wood

Abstract

Wood, due to its biological origin, has the capacity to interact with water. Sorption/desorption of moisture is accompanied with swelling/shrinkage and softening/hardening of its stiffness. The correct prediction of the behavior of wood components undergoing environmental loading requires that the moisture behavior and mechanical behavior of wood are considered in a coupled manner. We propose a comprehensive framework using a fully coupled poromechanical approach, where its multiscale implementation provides the capacity to take into account, directly, the exact geometry of the wood cellular structure, using computational homogenization. A hierarchical model is used to take into account the subcellular composite-like organization of the material. Such advanced modeling requires high-resolution experimental data for the appropriate determination of inputs and for its validation. High-resolution x-ray tomography, digital image correlation, and neutron imaging are presented as valuable methods to provide the required information.