Effect of specimen configuration and orthotropy on the Young’s modulus of solid wood obtained from a longitudinal vibration test

Abstract Young’s modulus in the longitudinal direction was measured by a longitudinal vibration (LV) test on western hemlock specimens with various length/width ratios. The effects of the configuration and orthotropy of the specimen on the measurement of Young’s modulus was investigated through subsequent finite element (FE) calculations. The experimental results suggested that Young’s modulus could not be obtained accurately when the length/width ratio of the specimen was in a certain range. The FE calculations revealed that Young’s modulus in the transverse direction and Poisson’s ratio in the length-width plane, as well as the length/width ratio, affected the Young’s modulus value. However, the results showed that when the length/width ratio of the specimen was larger than 10, Young’s modulus could be measured accurately with the LV test with a reduction in the effect of orthotropy.