Number of laminae on the mechanical behavior of glued laminated timber (glulam) of Toona ciliata produced with vegetable polyurethane adhesive

ABSTRACT The glued laminated timber (glulam) is a composite material obtained from the bonding of wood laminae arranged with parallel fibers put together. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the influence of the number of laminae on the mechanical behavior of glulam of Toona ciliata produced with vegetable-based polyurethane adhesive. The glulam beams were produced with lamellae in the dimensions of 6.0 x 1.5 x 120.0 cm, with 3 beams being made per treatment, which were structurally composed by 5, 7 and 9 laminae. The polyurethane adhesive based on castor oil was used, applying a grammage of 350 g m-². For the technological characterization of the wood the moisture in the dry base, bulk density, chemical characterization, compressive strength parallel to the fibers, shear and modulus of elasticity (MOE) and rupture (MOR) in the static bending test. While the properties of modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of rupture (MOR), shear strength, delamination and visualization of the glue line through photomicrographs of the laminated wood samples were determined for glulam beams. The results showed that the beams with 5 laminae presented values similar to solid wood. The increase in the number of laminae provided lower values for stiffness and strength of the beams. The photomicrographs showed the quality of the bonding and the satisfactory values for shear strength and delamination, indicating the viability of the species under study for situations with high moisture content.