The topic of the article is the analysis of the static work of unreinforced and reinforced with composite material timber beams under bending tests. The results of the experimental tests and a brief outline of the characteristics of the internal reinforcement of wood structures are presented. Experimental tests were performed on full-scale beams made of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) with nominal dimensions of 45 × 200 × 3400 mm. Two strips of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) reinforcement were glued into rectangular grooves in the component bottom with two-component epoxy resin (0.62% reinforcement percentage). The reinforcement mainly affected the enhancement of the maximum bending moment values evaluated at the points of application as having concentrated forces of 32% and 24% in comparison to the unreinforced elements. Increases of 11% and 7% in the global modulus of elasticity in the bending and stiffness coefficients were achieved, respectively. The failure of the reference beams was caused by exceeding the tensile strength of the LVL. The reinforced elements were characterized by a greater variation in failure mode, resulting from tension, compression or lateral torsional buckling. The strain profile reading showed a higher utilization of the compression characteristic of veneer in specimens reinforced with carbon laminates.

This paper presents the results of the static work analysis of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beams strengthened with carbon fabric sheets (CFRP). Tested specimens were 45mm wide, 100 mm high, and 1700 mm long. Two types of strengthening arrangements were assumed as follows: 1. One layer of sheet bonded to the bottom face; 2. U-shape half-wrapped reinforcement; both sides wrapped to half of the height of the cross-section. The reinforcement ratios were 0.22% and 0.72%, respectively. In both cases, the FRP reinforcement was bonded along the entire span of the element by means of epoxy resin. The reinforcement of the elements resulted in an increase in the bending strength by 30% and 35%, respectively, as well as an increase in the global modulus of elasticity in bending greater than 20% for both configurations (in comparison to the reference elements).

This paper presents the results of experimental research on full-size laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beams unreinforced and reinforced with CFRP sheets. The nominal dimensions of the tested beams were 45 mm × 200 mm × 3400 mm. The beams were reinforced using the so-called U-type reinforcement in three configurations, differing from each other in the thickness of the reinforcement and the side surface coverage. An epoxy resin adhesive was used to bond all the components together. A four-point static bending test was performed according to the guidelines in the relevant European standards. The effectiveness of the reinforcement increased with the level of coverage of the side surface and the level of reinforcement. The average increases of bending resistance were 42%, 51% and 58% for configurations B, C and D, respectively. The average value of bending stiffness increased for the beams of series B, C and D by 15%, 31% and 43%, respectively. Their failure mode changed from brittle fracture initiated in the tensile zone for unreinforced beams to more ductile fracture, initiated in the compression zone. The influence of the coverage of the side surface by the CFRP sheet and reinforcement ratio on the mechanism of failure and effectiveness of strengthening was studied in the article.

Due to limitations of traditional measuring methods, a necessity of verification of applicability of optical measuring systems in different fields of science is required. The paper presents the application of a non-contact, non-destructive ARAMIS optical system in the analysis of static work of unstrengthened and strengthened laminated veneer lumber beams (LVL) with composite materials, subjected to a four-point bending test. The beams were strengthened with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) sheets and laminates. The sheets were bonded to the external surfaces in three configurations differing in the number of layers applied and the degree of coverage of the side surface. The CFRP laminates were glued into predrilled grooves and applied to the underside of the beams. An adhesive based on epoxy resin was used. The scope of the work includes analysis of the strain distribution, stiffness and ductility. The analysis was performed on the basis of measurements made with an optical measurement system. The strain analysis indicated a change of the distribution of the strain in the compressive zone from linear for the unstrengthened to bilinear for the strengthened beams. The stiffness increase was equal from 14% up to 45% for the application of the CFRP laminates in the grooves and CFRP sheets bonded externally, respectively. Similar improvement was obtained for the ductility.

The paper presents the results of experimental research on unstrengthened and strengthened laminated veneer beams subjected to 4-point bending. Aramid, glass and carbon sheets with high tensile strength (HS) and ultra-high modulus of elasticity (UHM) glued to external surfaces with an epoxy resin adhesive were used as reinforcement. Two reinforcement layouts were used: (1) sheets glued along the bottom surface and (2) sheets glued to the bottom and side surfaces. Based on the test results, the flexural strength, flexural ductility and stiffness were estimated. Compared to the reference beams, the maximum bending moment was higher by 15%, 20%, 30% and by 16%, 22% and 35% for the Aramid Fiber Reinforced Polymers (AFRP), Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers (GFRP) and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) HS sheets, respectively. There was no significant increase in the flexural bending capacity for beams reinforced with UHM CFRP sheets. Similar values of bending ductility indices based on deflection and energy absorption were obtained. Higher increases in ductility were observed for AFRP, GFRP and CFRP HS sheets in “U” reinforcement layout. The average increase in bending stiffness coefficient ranged from 8% for AFRP sheets to 33% for UHM CFRP sheets compared to the reference beams.

Due to the high cost of laboratory testing, many researchers are considering developing methods to predict the behavior of unreinforced and reinforced wood beams. This work aims to create either numerical or analytical models useful for extrapolating already conducted tests to other schemes/materials used as reinforcement. In the case of timber structures, due to the complexity of timber, this task is difficult. The first part of the article presents an analysis of the suitability of using a simplified mathematical model based on the equivalent cross-section method to describe the behavior of unreinforced and reinforced with carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite full-size laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beams. The theoretical results were compared with the results of conducted experimental tests. The scope of the analysis includes the estimation of modulus of rupture, bending stiffness, and determination of the neutral axis position. The equivalent cross-section method showed good agreement in determining the bending stiffness and neutral axis position of the strengthened sections. However, the suitability of using the equivalent cross-section method to estimate the load-carrying capacity of a cross-section reinforced with fiber composites still needs to be confirmed, which, according to the authors, is due to the differences between the assumed (linear) and actual (nonlinear) strain distribution in the compression zone. The second part uses the equivalent cross-section method to estimate the predicted bending stiffness of LVL beams strengthened with aramid-fibre-reinforced polymer (AFRP), glass-fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP), and ultra-high modulus carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP UHM) sheets. The proposed method can be used for preliminary evaluation of strengthening effectiveness of LVL beams.