The effect of moisture content on the mechanical properties of wood structure.

In the last two decades, the utilization of timber in construction has gained increasing attention among researchers and sustainable building designers. Therefore, studies of climate impact on timber structures have been conducted, many of them focusing on the moisture content caused changes in timber. In the present study, four-point bending tests have been performed on three testing groups, containing 30 samples each. The first group has been tested under its natural conditions, while the second and the third groups were fully saturated with water. The third group was glazed with a protection material. The results show the changes in the modulus of elasticity and the modulus of rupture caused by the moisture content increase. In the same time the material behavior changed from brittle to semi-ductile or ductile for some samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]