Tensile strength of pine and ash woods – experimental and numerical study

Timber structures are a competitive solution when compared to steel and concrete structures, showing features and advantages that overcome their competitors: weight/strength ratio, rapid assembly, fire resistance and excellent performance in earthquake scenario, natural aesthetic attractiveness, and ecological rationality which leads to sustainable construction. The main goal of this experimental and numerical study was to evaluate, using tensile tests, the mechanical characteristics of two different wood species: Pine and Ash. For tensile test a total of twelve samples for each wood species were prepared, six of them were cut in the wood transverse to the grain, with dimensions equal to 190×50×9 mm, and the others six were cut in the wood parallel to the grain with the dimensions equal to 210×40×9 mm. A numerical simulation was also conducted in order to assess the stress-strain behaviour of Pine and Ash woods