Nondestructive evaluation of damage accumulation in tensile test specimens made from solid wood and layered wood materials

As a first step towards developing a test methodology for characterization of microscopic damage mechanisms in wood-based materials, quasi-static tensile tests were performed on simplified laboratory-scale specimens of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) or plywood and compared with solid wood. The tests were monitored by acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC). Evaluation of the AE and DIC data indicated distinct differences between the specimen types with respect to the time sequence of damage growth resulting in macroscopic failure. Sufficient time resolution in data recording is crucial for the interpretation of the mechanical behavior and the damage accumulation.