Abstract

The shear modulus of a timber beam can be determined using torsion test or shear field test method. The shear field test method is based on the measurement of the shear distortion of the beam at the zone with a constant transverse load in the standardized four-point bending test. The current code of practice advises using two metallic arms act as an instrument to measure the diagonal displacement of the constructing square. The size of the constructing square might influence the shear modulus determination. This study aims to investigate the size effect in the shear field test method. Six glue laminated beams were produced and tested. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed on the acquired data to evaluate the significance of size effect of the square. The results have shown that the size of the square has a noticeable influence on the value of shear modulus.

Keywords: Shear Field test method; Structural-sized test; Shear modulus of Glulam beam; Photogrammetry approach