Taiwan J For Sci 22(3): 297-306, 2007 297

Research paper

Comparison of Three Methods for Determining Young’s

Modulus of Wood
Chih-Lung Cho1, 2)

【Summary】
Values of Young’s modulus of China fir, Taiwan red cypress, Taiwan yellow cypress, Japanese
cedar, and camphor wood were investigated in this study. These wood species are most typical of
the wood used in historic buildings in Taiwan. Discussions of apparent and true Young’s moduli
obtained from longitudinal- and complex-vibration tests and a comparison of these results with
tests of the same specimens by the static-bending method are presented. A simultaneous determina-
tion of the shear modulus (G) of test specimen was obtained by a complex-vibration bending and
twisting method. Results showed that the longitudinal-vibration method yielded the highest values
for the apparent Young’s modulus, and those from the static-bending method were the lowest.
Values of the percentage differences between values of Young’s modulus obtained from different
test methods increased with an increase in Eb /G values. Based on the Timoshenko beam theory and
Hearmon approximate solution method, taking rotary inertia and shear deformation into account, it
was observed that a very high correlation (R2 = 0.999) existed between the true Young’s modulus
obtained from the complex-vibration and static-bending tests. There was a tendency for the dy-
namic measurements to be approximately 1.2% on average higher than the static measurements.
The accuracies of the apparent Young’s modulus obtained from both the complex-vibration and
static-bending tests improved as the E-to-G ratios decreased, and this parameter could be used as a
guideline for the expected accuracy of the apparent Young’s modulus corresponding to various test
methods.
Key words: Young’s modulus, shear modulus, vibration test, static-bending test, Timoshenko beam
theory.
Cho CL. 2007. Comparison of three methods for determining Young’s modulus of wood. Taiwan J
For Sci 22(3):297-306.

1)
Department of Natural Resources, National I-Lan University, 1 Shenlung Rd., Sec. 1, Ilan 26047,
Taiwan. 國立宜蘭大學自然資源系，26047宜蘭市神農路一段1號。
2)
Corresponding author, e-mail:rockcho@seed.net.tw 通訊作者。
Received March 2007, Accepted May 2007. 2007年3月送審 2007年5月通過。
298 Cho CL―Comparison of three methods for determining Young’s modulus of wood

研究報告

三種測定木材彈性模數方法之比較
卓志隆1,2)
摘 要

本研究以振動方法探討杉木、紅檜、台灣扁柏、柳杉及樟樹等五種常作為台灣歷史建築物之木材
的彈性模數，並與由抗彎試驗得到之結果比較其試驗彈性模數與真實彈性模數之差異。此外，由彎曲
及扭轉複合振動方法可同時計算試材的剪斷模數(G)。
試驗結果顯示由縱向振動方法得到之試驗彈性模數(E L )最高，以抗彎試驗得到之試驗彈性模數
(E s )最低。由不同試驗方法所得到之試驗彈性模數間之差異百分比值會隨E b /G值增加而增加。若依
Timoshenko樑理論，考慮剪斷變形及旋轉慣性對試材彈性模數之影響，則由複合振動試驗所推導出
之真實彈性模數較抗彎試驗所推導出之數值平均大約1.2 % ，且兩者間具有極高之相關，決定係數為
0.999。隨著E b /G值降低，試驗彈性模數E b 與E s 值的準確性會提高，E/G值可作為預測試驗彈性模數準
確性的參考指標。
關鍵詞：彈性模數、剪斷模數、振動試驗、抗彎試驗、Timoshenko樑理論。
卓志隆。2007。三種測定木材彈性模數方法之比較。台灣林業科學22(3):297-306。

INTRODUCTION
Young’s modulus is one of the most fre- able. Modern instrumentation enables these
quently used parameters in structural wood methods to easily be applied. Impact-induced
member design and evaluation. Vibration free-free resonance flexural vibrations were
techniques have been used in some non-de- employed for determining Young’s modulus
structive evaluation applications for determin- of small clear specimens by Sobue (1986)
ing Young’s modulus, such as the machine and on samples of structural lumber (Perstor-
stress rating of lumber (Ross and Pellerin per 1994, Hu and Hsu 1996). However, the
1991). There are certain advantages of using classic theory (Euler beam theory) of flexural
the vibration approach to determine Young’s vibration is inadequate for short, thick beams
modulus over the static-bending method. and for higher-frequency modes. The inad-
First, the experimental results are not sensi- equacy originates from the fact that rotational
tive to geometric imperfections of test speci- motions and shear deformations of the beam
mens. Second, the time for a vibration test is elements are neglected. Both of these effects
shorter than that for the alternative static test cause the resonance frequencies to be lower
(Chui 1989). than those predicted by the classical model
Longitudinal and flexural free-free beam and consequently, Young’s moduli calculated
vibration techniques have been widely used on the basis of Euler beam theory may be sig-
for estimating Young’s modulus of wood nificantly lower than the true values. Chui and
products. The free-support conditions provide Smith (1990) theoretically investigated the ef-
the most accurate support conditions achiev- fects of rotary inertia, shear deformations, and
Taiwan J For Sci 22(3): 297-306, 2007 299

support conditions on the natural frequencies modulus. In this study, wood specimens were
of wooden beams. Hearmon (1958) showed prepared from 5 species, including 4 soft-
that for clear timber, an approximate method woods and 1 hardwood. These wood species
for calculating Young’s modulus according to are most typical for wood used in historic
the Timoshenko beam theory is very accurate buildings in Taiwan. Discussions of apparent
for length-to-depth ratios of as low as 10. Hu and true values of Young’s modulus obtained
and Hsu (1996) reported that it is essential to by the vibration tests and a comparison of
have a span-to-depth ratio exceeding 20 in these results with tests of the same specimens
order to obtain a reliable Young’s modulus by the static-bending method are presented in
for wood-based materials when using the this paper.
transverse simple-beam vibration technique.
For a static-bending test of a simply sup- MATERIALS AND METHODS
ported beam specimen subjected to a concen-
trated load, the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory Materials
(which ignores the effects of shear deforma- Ninety specimens of 35 (width)×35
tion and rotary inertia) yields an apparent (thickness)×600 (length) mm were made
Young’s modulus. The effect of shear stress from each of 5 wood species: China fir (Cun-
on the load-deflection relationship is marked ninghamia lanceolata; CF), Japanese cedar
when the beam has a small span-to-depth (Cryptomeria japonica; JC), Taiwan yellow
ratio. Bodig and Jayne (1982) indicated that cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formo-
Young’s modulus obtained on the basis of the sana; TYC), Taiwan red cypress (Chamaecy-
ASTM D198 method would be 8.9% lower paris formosensis; TRC), and camphor wood
than the theoretical Young’s modulus. (Cinnamomum camphora; CW). The speci-
True Young’s modulus is a material con- mens were conditioned at 20℃ and 65% rela-
stant and is independent of a specimens’ size tive humidity for more than a month prior to
or measurement method. Under some specific measuring their properties. The moisture con-
conditions, the apparent Young’s modulus can tent and density of each wood species under
be a good approximation of the true Young’s designated conditions are given in Table 1.

Table 1. Mean values of Young’s modulus and shear modulus for 5 wood species
Wood Density Moisture Young’s modulus (GPa) Shear Modulus
species (kgm-3) content (%) Es2) Eb2) EL2) (GPa)
1) 3)
CF 419 (36) 13.3 (1.16) 8.42 (1.13) 9.71 (1.46) 11.25 (1.64) 0.65 (0.16)
JC1) 508 (65) 14.2 (0.63) 8.25 (1.77) 8.75 (1.82) 9.84 (1.96) 1.03 (0.17)
TYC1) 468 (53) 11.9 (0.65) 8.33 (2.19) 8.70 (2.09) 9.54 (2.32) 1.07 (0.17)
TRC1) 452 (50) 12.1 (0.45) 7.46 (1.83) 7.60 (1.84) 8.29 (2.04) 1.01 (0.17)
CW1) 612 (36) 13.1 (0.59) 7.27 (1.00) 8.02 (1.34) 9.00 (1.43) 0.88 (0.12)
1)
CF, China fir; JC, Japanese cedar; TYC, Taiwan yellow cypress; TRC, Taiwan red cypress; CW,
camphor wood.
2)
Es, Eb, and EL are measured values of Young’s modulus obtained by the static-bending test, com-
plex-vibration bending and twisting test, and longitudinal-vibration test, respectively.
3)
Values in parentheses represent standard deviations.
300 Cho CL―Comparison of three methods for determining Young’s modulus of wood

Longitudinal-vibration test Complex-vibration bending and twisting

The longitudinal-vibration test was car- test
ried out using impact-induced vibrations in The free-free complex-vibration bending
the fiber direction by a small hard rubber and twisting test setup is shown in Fig. 2. The
hammer striking 1 end of the specimen, held beam specimen was supported horizontally
horizontally by 2 knife-edge rubber prisms in via 2 very soft foam prisms to simulate a free-
the center. The resulting vibrations were de- free condition. The specimen was impacted
tected by a miniature accelerometer (Endevco by a hard rubber hammer at an end along the
type 2250A-10; San Juan Capistrano, U.S.A.), edge line simultaneously producing com-
which was mounted on the specimen with the plex vibrations of bending and twisting. The
use of a beeswax layer. A Pulse 3560C system complex vibrations were measured by a pair
produced by the Brüel and Kjær Co. (Nærum, of accelerometers located at the other end of
Denmark) was used for recording transient the beam. In order to identify resonance fre-
data and for the subsequent determination of quencies of the bending and twisting modes
the fundamental frequency by a fast Fourier from the complex vibrations, an isolation
transformation spectrum analysis. Young’s method of the time-domain signals accord-
modulus (EL) was calculated from equation ing to Sobue’s report (1988) was adopted.
(1): Isolated signals were introduced to a fast
EL = 4ρf12L2; (1) Fourier transformation spectrum analysis, the
where f1 is the fundamental frequency of the resonance frequencies corresponding to each
longitudinal vibration, EL is Young’s modulus, of the bending and twisting modes were in-
ρ is the density, and L is the total length of the stantaneously identified, and consequently the
specimens. Figure 1 illustrates the setup for values of Young’s modulus (Eb) according to
the longitudinal-vibration test. the Euler beam theory and shear modulus (G)

Brüel and Kjær

Pulse 3560C with
FFT analysis

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the longitudinal-vibration test.

Taiwan J For Sci 22(3): 297-306, 2007 301

Isolation of time
domain signals
(Brüel and Kjær;
Pulse 3560C)

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the complex-vibration bending and twisting test.

were deduced. Young’s modulus and the shear A Shimadzu model UH-10B testing machine
modulus corresponding to the fundamental (Kyoto, Japan) was used. The span was 500
mode were calculated by equations (2) and (3), mm, and a concentrated load was applied to
respectively: the center of the span. The ultimate load and
deflection were measured from the load-de-
Eb = ; (2) flection curve, and the static-bending Young’s
modulus (Es) was then calculated.
where Eb is Young’s modulus, L is the length
of the test specimen, fb1 (Hz) is the fundamen-
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
tal frequency of the bending vibration, ρ is the
density, β1 = 4.73 is a constant corresponding
Comparison of values of static-bending
to the fundamental mode of free-free flexural
and vibration Young’s moduli
vibration, and i is the radius of gyration of a
Table 1 shows a comparison of the mean
cross section.
values of Young’s modulus for 5 wood spe-

[ ]
2

G= ; (3) cies obtained from each of the 3 test methods.

The mean value of Young’s modulus from
where ft1 (Hz) is the fundamental frequency the longitudinal-vibration method was greater
of the torsion vibration, L is the length of the than those obtained from the complex-
test specimen, Ip is the polar moment of iner- vibration method and the static-bending test
tia, ρ is the density, and Kt = 0.141bh3 is for by about 9~16% and 11~33%, respectively.
a square cross section (b is the width and h is Values of the mean Young’s modulus ob-
the thickness). tained from the complex-vibration method for
these 5 wood species were higher than those
Static-bending test from the static-bending test by about 2~15%.
The static-bending test was performed These results are similar to those obtained by
in accordance with the CNS 454 procedure. Hearmon (1958) and Haiens et al. (1996). The
302 Cho CL―Comparison of three methods for determining Young’s modulus of wood

viscoelasticity is the most likely source of the and Eb vs. EL for the 5 wood species. Values
differences noted. The longitudinal-vibration of percentage differences (∆E (%)) between
method employs shorter pulses that are re- Young’s moduli obtained from the 3 methods
lated to waves of higher-frequency content. were as follows:
Kolsky (1963) provided an analysis of a com- ∆E (%) Eb vs. Es = [(Eb - Es)/Es]×100,
plex viscoelasticity model that predicts higher ∆E (%) EL vs. Es = [(EL - Es)/Es]×100, and
velocities of longitudinal waves at higher fre- ∆E (%) Eb vs. EL = [(EL - Eb)/Eb]×100.
quencies. Since Young’s modulus determined Variations in ∆E (%) for each wood spe-
by the longitudinal mode is proportional to cies in Table 2 were in the following order:
the square of the longitudinal velocity, these ∆E (%) EL vs. Es > ∆E (%) Eb vs. Es > ∆E (%) Eb vs. EL.
results predict a higher value of the calculated Values of the percentage differences between
Young’s modulus for wood than we obtained Young’s moduli of Taiwan yellow cypress and
from the longitudinal resonance frequency. Taiwan red cypress were significantly lower
Brenndorfer (1972) indicated differences of than those of the other wood species. A ten-
the same order between Young’s modulus de- dency for ∆E to increase with an increase in
duced from longitudinal and flexural modes Eb/G values indicated that shear deformation
in the principal directions. When measure- may be an important factor affecting Young’s
ments were performed in the principal direc- modulus values obtained from different test
tions, Young’s moduli determined from the methods.
longitudinal modes were about 2~16% higher
than those measured from the flexural modes. Comparison of the true Young’s modulus
Underestimation of the static-bending For flexural vibrations, the Timoshenko
Young’s modulus has been recognized in beam theory accounts for both shear defor-
many studies and is usually attributed to the mation and rotary inertia. These 2 effects are
viscoelastic nature of wood. Table 2 presents neglected in the Euler beam theory. Both of
an ANOVA analysis of the mean percent- these effects cause the resonance frequen-
age differences given by Eb vs. Es, EL vs. Es, cies to be lower than those predicted by the

Table 2. ANOVA of the values of percentage differences ∆E ( ) between Young’s moduli and
Eb-to-G ratios for 5 wood species
Values of percentage differences (∆E; %)
Wood species between values of Young’s modulus Eb /G
E b vs. E L E b vs. E s E L vs. E s
CF 1) 14.8 (11.7) A2) 16.4 (9.8) A 33.3 (14.0) A 16.0 (4.8) A
B A B
JC 8.8 (21.5) 14.6 (8.6) 23.8 (20.6) 8.6 (1.6) BC
C B C
TYC 5.7 (12.2) 9.4 (5.8) 15.4 (12.4) 7.9 (1.6) C
C B C
TRC 2.1 (4.6) 9.4 (5.4) 11.1 (4.5) 7.8 (1.6) C
CW 10.1 (17.1) B 16.4 (21.0) A 25.2 (14.5) B 9.6 (2.0) B
1)
The wood species are defined in the footnotes to Table 1.
2)
Values in parentheses represent standard deviations. Means within a given column with the same
superscript letter do not significantly (p 0.05) differ as determined by Duncan’s multiple-range
tests.
Taiwan J For Sci 22(3): 297-306, 2007 303

classical model, and consequently, Young’s and F2 (αn) for the fundamental mode of a
modulus calculated on the basis of equation free-free beam are 49.98 and 12.30, respec-
(2) may be significantly lower than the true tively, S = 1.2 is the shear deflection coeffi-
values. cient for a rectangular cross section, and fo is
Timoshenko first discussed the full dif- the measured frequency. Using the resonance
ferential equation by taking both of these ef- frequency, the apparent Young’s modulus and
fects into account: shear modulus obtained by complex vibra-
tions of bending and twisting corresponded
+ - i 2 (1 + ) + to the fundamental mode, and mean values
of the true Young’s modulus for each of the
= 0; (5) wood species calculated from equation (6) are
shown in Table 3. To assess the comparabil-
where E is Young’s modulus, G is the shear ity of the complex-vibration technique with
modulus, i is the radius of gyration of a cross the static-bending test, a relationship between
section, ρ is the density, y is lateral deflection, the apparent Young’s modulus determined by
x is the distance along the beam, t is the time, these methods was established as shown in
and S is the shear deflection coefficient for Fig. 3. The relationship can be represented by
a rectangular cross section. In the case of a the following regression formula:
free-free elastic beam, Hearmon (1958) pre- Es = 0.707 Eb + 1.806; R 2 = 0.692.
sented an approximate solution: It was found that the correlation between
=1+ [F1 (αn) + F2 (αn) ]- static-bending and dynamic Young’s modulus
values, although close, was not perfect; theo-
retically the 2 should be identical. To develop
; (6)
a relationship between the true Young’s mod-
where Eb-true is the true Young’s modulus, EA ulus obtained by the complex-vibration meth-
is the apparent Young’s modulus, L is the od and by the static-bending method, a proper
length of the test specimen, values of F1 (αn) ratio of the static apparent Young’s modulus

Table 3. Mean values of the true Young’s modulus and ratios of the apparent to the true
Young’s modulus for 5 wood species
Ratios of the apparent to the true
True Young’s modulus (GPa)
Wood species Young’s modulus (%)
E b-true2) E s-true2) E b /E b-true E s /E s-true
1) 3)
CF 10.42 (1.78) 10.31 (1.78) 92.8 (1.6) 82.6 (9.1)
JC 9.26 (1.95) 9.11 (1.92) 95.3 (0.6) 90.8 (10.8)
TYC 9.16 (2.43) 9.04 (2.04) 95.7 (0.6) 92.7 (9.0)
TRC 7.97 (2.01) 7.87 (1.98) 95.7 (0.6) 95.2 (4.5)
CW 8.84 (1.74) 8.74 (1.72) 95.1 (0.7) 85.2 (14.5)
1)
The wood species are defined in the footnotes to Table 1.
2)
Eb-true and Es-true are the true Young’s modulus determined by the Timoshenko beam theory corre-
sponding to complex-vibration bending and twisting and the static-bending tests, respectively.
3)
Values in parentheses represent standard deviations.
304 Cho CL―Comparison of three methods for determining Young’s modulus of wood

Fig. 3. Linear regression relationship between the static-bending Young’s modulus (Es) and
the complex-vibration Young’s modulus (Eb) of specimens.

to the true Young’s modulus must be deter- shear modulus determined by the complex-
mined. During static bending of the beam, the vibration technique is accurate; otherwise,
load-deflection relation is influenced by the discrepancies in values of the true Young’s
shear stress which occurs in the material. A modulus between Eb-true and Es-true would be
beam with a simple rectangular cross section great.
under a center-point loading situation with The accuracy of these 2 methods was
shear deformation can be expressed as fol- defined as the ratio of the apparent Young’s
lows: modulus to the true Young’s modulus, which
is plotted in Fig. 5. As shown in Fig. 5, the
= + (h / Ls) 2; (7)
accuracy of both techniques was improved
where Es is the static apparent Young’s modu- as the E-to-G ratio decreased, and this can be
lus, Es-true is the true Young’s modulus, S is used as a guideline for the expected accuracy.
1.2, G is the shear modulus obtained from the For instance, the E-to-G ratio should be less
complex-vibration test, h is the thickness, and than 9 for specimens with a length-to-depth
Ls is the span of the test specimen. The mean
of the true Young’s modulus calculated using
equation (7) for each wood species is shown
in Table 3. By taking the rotary inertia and
shear deformation into account, Fig. 4 shows
that a very high correlation existed between
values of the true Young’s modulus calculated
from equations (6) and (7), respectively, with
a tendency for the dynamic measurements to
be approximately 1.2% higher than the static Fig. 4. Linear regression relationship
measurements. The correlation coefficient of between the static-bending true Young’s
0.999 illustrates the almost-perfect agreement modulus (E s-true) and the complex-vibration
between the 2 methods used. In addition, the true Young’s modulus (E b-true) of specimens.
Taiwan J For Sci 22(3): 297-306, 2007 305

proximately 1.2% on average higher than

the static measurements.
4. The accuracies of values of Young’s modu-
lus obtained from the complex-vibration
and static-bending tests were both im-
proved as the E-to-G ratios decreased, and
this parameter can be used as a guideline
Fig. 5. Linear regression relationship for the expected accuracy of Young’s
between the accuracy (apparent Young’s modulus corresponding to the test methods
modulus-to-true Young’s modulus ratios) used.
and the Eb-to-G ratios of specimens.

LITERATURE CITED
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technique. Reihold. p 155-8.
Brenndorfer D. 1972. Nondestructive testing
CONCLUSIONS of wood with acoustic vibrations. Ind Lemn
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methods for 5 wood species and of their sta- and possible sources of error. In: Pellerin RF,
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