Microprestress Theory for the Prediction of Mechanosorptive Creep in Wood

Abstract

Mass timber has gained increasing focus as a sustainable alternative to concrete structures, and recent innovations have allowed timber buildings as high as 25 stories. However, although critical factors such as fire safety have been studied thoroughly, other facets, such as long-term material performance, have been neglected. Thorough assessments of sustainability must consider the full service life of a building, including its time-dependent behavior. Deformations in timber elements undergoing these time-dependent effects, namely creep, will have notable implications for the serviceability of a building. This study proposes a comprehensive model for predicting moisture-dependent creep in timber, based on the theory of microprestress in partially saturated porous materials. The model is implemented numerically using a Kelvin-chain approximation for basic creep and midpoint integration for mechanosorptive effects, resulting in a computationally efficient approach. Results show the model is able to fully capture the effects of moisture cycling, including effects of hygrothermal gradients. Using both calibrated and estimated parameters the model also predicts with reasonable accuracy the long-term moisture-dependent creep in structural-scale mass timber elements.