Simulation of residual stress in curved Glulam beams during manufacturing

A curved Glulam beam is manufactured by forcing the laminas with an adhesive into the designed curve, bending stress is thus formed in each lamina. When the adhesive is solidified and the forces are removed, there are bending stress, shear stress and stress perpendicular to grain remaining in the beam. The residual stresses will affect the load-carrying capability of the beam. It is, therefore, useful to investigate the residual stresses from production. In this study, the process of forming the laminas into curved Glulam beams was simulated by FE method incorporating ABAQUS. The residual stresses, longitudinal and perpendicular to grain in curved Glulam beams during and after manufacturing were studied. The effect of various parameters, such as the solidification time of adhesive, the thickness of lamina, the radius of curvature of the Glulam beams and the magnitude of external pressure, on the residual stresses was discussed. Based on the investigation, a formula for evaluating the longitudinal residual stress in a curved beam was proposed.