Experimental and numerical analyses of the structural response of adhesively reconstituted beech timber beams

The aim of this work was to study the behaviour of adhesively reconstituted beams made of local beech timber. Experimental and numerical results are presented. Contributions of numerical modelling for the analysis of adhesively bonded assemblies for beech timber components are the main focus of the present paper. Numerical simulations are based on the Cohesive Zone Model (CZM) of Abaqus software to allow for accurate description of the progressive damage of the bond-lines up to final failure. The effects of several parameters were investigated ones the finite element model has been verified against experiments. The numerical results have showed that the modelling approach was convenient to study the behaviour of such beam systems with limited destructive tests, which are likely to be very expensive and time consuming. The parametrical study undertaken demonstrated a significant enhancement of the load-carrying capacity of beams by optimising the finger-jointing geometry. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.