Mechanical Characterization of Ancient Timber Members Through Destructive Test in Bending

The paper deals with an experimental campaign of destructive tests in bending carried out on timber members in structural dimensions. The sample consists of 18 timber specimens of Chestnut (Castanea sativa) and Corsican Pine (Pinus nigra subsp. Laricio, Poir., Maire). They were part of the rafters extracted from the roof trusses of the 16th century building, the lyceum gymnasium Bernardino Telesio, located in the historic centre of Cosenza (Italy). The specimens dated back approximately to the mid-eighteenth century. Prior to destructive tests, all elements were strength-graded through visual assessment and non-destructive techniques (NDT). In this work, the four-point bending tests of the specimens, under quasi-static loading conditions are presented. The testing procedure applied was performed in preliminary elastic cycles and then until failure, according to EN 408 (2012). The obtained results were analyzed to derive local and global elastic moduli, as well as bending strength.