Elastic constants of six wood species measured with the resonant beam technique

The elastic properties of six wood species were determined using the resonant beam technique. By stimulation of transverse vibrations and analyzing the responding oscillations of carefully prepared rectangular beams of wood, simultaneous determination of one Young’s modulus and two shear-moduli on one specimen is possible. Using three different cutting orientations along the principal material directions all three Young’s moduli and three shear moduli can be determined. This paper presents the application of this technique to six wood species: two softwoods, two hardwoods and two tropical woods.