Elastic constants of wood are fundamental parameters used in finite element analysis of wood structures. However, few studies and standards regulate the dimensions of sample used to measure elastic constants of wood. The size effect on mechanical properties (i.e., elastic constants and proportional limit stresses) of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) wood was studied with five different sizes samples. The data of experiments were inputted into a finite element model of self-designed chair and the loading capacity of chair was investigated by finite element method (FEM) and experiment. The results showed that nonlinear relationships were found between proportional limit stresses, cross-sectional area, and height of specimen by response surface method with R² greater than 0.72 in longitudinal, radial, and tangential directions. Elastic moduli and shear moduli increased with the height of specimen when cross-sectional area was kept constant, and decreased with an increased cross-sectional area of specimen, when the height was a constant, while the trends of Poisson’s ratio were not as expected. The comparisons between experiment and FEM suggested that the accuracy of FEM simulation increase with the raise of width-height ratio (≤1) of specimens used to determine the elastic constants. It is recommended to use small cubic wood specimen to determine the elastic mechanical properties used for finite element analysis of beech wood structures. Further research to find optimized wood specimen dimensions to get mechanical properties for FEM is quite necessary.

Beech wood (Fagus sylvatica L.) is used in a wide range of wood products. However, the influence of the wood’s moisture content on its mechanical functions will affect its structural strength. It would be complicated and time-consuming to experimentally measure wood’s mechanical functions under different moisture contents. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a prediction formula between the moisture content and elastic constants, and then verify whether its mechanical functions within a wide range of moisture content can be studied by using FEM (finite element method). In this study, which was based on experimentation, we studied the influence of a wide range of moisture contents and grain direction on the compressive yield strength, modulus of elasticity and shear modulus of beech wood. The relationship between the moisture content and elastic constants was established; the moisture sensitivities of different elastic parameters were obtained. Ultimately, compression curves under different moisture contents were plotted out, using both FEM and experimentation. According to the results, the interaction of moisture with the grain direction had a significant effect on the elastic constants of wood, with grain direction having a greater effect on the elastic properties than the moisture content. Moreover, the decay function can be used to fit these experimental results well. The elastic constants of beech wood responded differently to the moisture content, depending on whether it was in the longitude or transverse directions. Finally, this study proved the feasibility of using FEM to simulate wood’s compressive performance with a wide range of moisture contents.

The mortise and loose tenon (M<) joint is a form between mortise-and-tenon (M&T) joint and dowel. It combines the advantages of easy processing and high bonding strength and has no requirement for the shape of the tenon shoulder. However, there is a lack of research conducted separately on the parallel-to-grain part of M< joint. This study explored the withdrawal capacity of the equivalence I-type specimen to focus on the strength of the parallel-to-grain part of M< joint by conducting mechanical experiments and establishing finite element model. The results indicated that (1) The largest average pull-out load occurred at the group of 0.1 mm interference fit with the value of 16000 N, most of the joints underwent shear damage of material parallel-to-grain; (2) The maximum load of FEM is 14300 N with an error of 10.5%, so finite element model is a rational approach to predict the withdrawal strength of parallel-to-grain connection of M< joint.