Mixed mode fracture behavior of welded wood joints investigated with the Arcan test

Friction welding of wood is an assembly method that is still under
investigation and development. A possible application for welded wood joints is the
fabrication of multi-layered panels (i.e., cross-laminated panels). In an effort to
model the behavior of such products, work is needed to characterize the mechanical
strength and fracture properties of welded joints produced with parallel and crossgrain
orientations. The present work addresses combined experimental and
numerical investigations into the strength and fracture characterization of welded
wood joints. The Arcan test setup is used for the experimental mechanical characterization.
Numerical and experimental strength analyses are carried out to
investigate the effect of the wood’s fiber orientation and in-plane loading direction
on the joint strength and fracture toughness. The results show that the orientation of
the fibers does not affect the tensile and shear strength (2.3 and 7 MPa, respectively).
In the case of fracture, the virtual crack closure technique is used in a finite
element model to determine the critical values of energy release rate in pure and
mixed modes. A mixed mode fracture criterion of the welded joint is determined.