Numerical and experimental analysis of timber composite beams with interlayer slip

This paper presents an effective computational method for non-linear analysis of composite timber beams with interlayer slips. In order to analyse such a composite structure with sufficient accuracy, a new strain based finite element was developed. The method is validated by comparison with experimentally obtained data. Four two-layer timber composite beams were tested and results compared with the numerical solution. Comparison of experimental and numerical results shows that the timber constitutive law and the contact constitutive law significantly influence the behaviour of composite timber beams. There is good agreement of measured and numerically evaluated interlayer slips at the interface surface.