Failure criterion for timber beams loaded in bending, compression and shear

Abstract

Based on the elastic–plastic strength calculation, necessary for precise data explanation, a derivation is given of the failure criterion for combined bending, compression and shear. This exact limit state criterion should replace the unacceptable unsafe criteria of Eurocode 5 (EN 1995-1-1:2004). It is shown that the principle used thus far, of limited “flow” in axial compression as a determining failure criterion, for example, predicting no influence of a size effect, does not hold. Instead, it is derived and confirmed by the data that bending tension failure is always determining, showing the existence of a size effect, and correction of the existing calculation method is therefore necessary. Because of the primary importance of the size effect for the strengths, also for combined bending–compression, a simple derivation of the size effect design equations is given and discussed in an appendix.

Keywords:

• Combined bending–compression–shear strength
• failure criterion
• limit analysis
• timber