Analysis of ponderosa pine glued laminated beams

Abstract

The manufacturing process of glued laminated beams (VLE) allows transforming a piece of wood of inferior quality into a superior one, as well as presenting elements of squares and lengths impossible to find in sawn elements. This generates the need to increase studies to obtain more information about its structural behavior. This publication presents values of mechanical properties obtained through tests carried out on glued laminated beams of ponderosa pine of resistant class 1, according to the UNE-EN 1194 (1999) standard. The results obtained experimentally were compared with theoretical values, obtaining acceptable variations for the modulus of elasticity and more significant ones for the resistance to bending. In some beams, failures were observed in the gluing of the finger joint that must be corrected in the process of its conformation. The next step is to continue the studies to manage its incorporation into the IRAM 9660 (2015) standard.