Experimental determination of the limiting flexibility of eucalyptus wood for axially compressed elements

Relevance. Wood is one of the most widely used building materials throughout history, and because of its physical-mechanical properties it mainly has been used in flexed and compressed elements. Eucalyptus was introduced to Latin America in the mid-19th century and nowadays is one of the most used woods for construction in the Andean region of Ecuador. To designing slender structural elements under axial loading engineers usually use the Euler formula, but it is applicable only if the compression stress does not exceed the proportional limit. One way to determine if the compression stress will be below the proportional limit is by comparing of the slenderness of the element with the limiting flexibility of its material which allows knowing if the buckling will occur in the elastic zone where Euler formula applies. The aim of the work - determine the magnitude of the limiting flexibility of eucalyptus, since this wood has been the subject of some investigations, however, no information about the limiting flexibility magnitude for the calculation of axially compressed elements. Methods. The laboratory tests to determine the magnitudes of the modulus of elasticity, proportional limit, admissible compression stress and limiting flexibility was carried out. Results. This experimental investigation shows that the magnitude of the limiting flexibility or so-called critical slenderness ratio for eucalyptus globulus is 59.