Analyzing creep-recovery behavior of tropical Entandrophragma cylindricum wood: Traditional and fractional modeling methods

Abstract

Nowadays, wood stands as one of the foremost used construction materials, owing largely to its exceptional physical and mechanical properties. Ensuring the safety of timber structures necessitates thorough investigations into the influential phenomena that significantly affect their strength and longevity. The aim of this paper is to study the coupled creep-recovery behavior of tropical wood from the Entandrophragma cylindricum species by evaluating the influence of stress levels on the performance of rheological models. Hence, the Burger and Weibull classic models were introduced to elucidate these phenomena. These models have been compared with the fractional Maxwell and Zener models. Following the simulations, the Burger classic model effectively characterized creep and recovery, comprising elastic, viscoelastic, and viscous elements arranged in series, as well as the classic Weibull model. During the recovery phase, the four-parameter Weibull model demonstrated a satisfying description, achieving 99% accuracy compared to 97% for the four-parameter Burger classic model. Three-parameter fractional Maxwell model fit all phases of the process for all deformations with an average accuracy of 98% for creep and 95% for recovery. These results provide valuable information on the material’s ability to recover from deformation and offer essential insights for materials characterization, engineering design, and quality assurance processes in materials engineering.