ABSTRACT
This research aimed at estimating both longitudinal (E) and shear (G) elasticity moduli of round structural-sized beams made of Pinus caribaea timber, verifying thus the validity of the G = E/ 20 relationship established by the Brazilian standard ABNT NBR 7190: 1997 (Designing of Wooden Structures). We tested twenty pieces of green wood with average length, diameter and conicity of 750 cm, 30 cm and 4%, respectively. Two static bending tests were applied at three points of each piece, being nondestructive and using different distances between supports. In the first trial, the length and diameter relationship (L/ d) was set as being equal to 24; yet in the second test, it was set at 12. The elasticity moduli were estimated by a successive use of the Timoshenko beam theory equation, which takes into account the shearing stress effect on displacement calculations. The results of both longitudinal and shear moduli were related through the least square assessment method; thus, we could find a relationship of G = E/ 43. As a result, we observed that the tested wooden pieces are at odds with the Brazilian standards.
Stiffness; bending; beam theory; least square
