Hybride-BoisAlu

Wood is known for its high absorption capacity during impact, and aluminum is used not only to control wood deformation by improving/reducing brittle wood failure modes, but above all to protect it from weathering. Establishing analytical laws describing the evolution of numerous critical parameters as a function of deformation rate is a major challenge for numerical simulation, particularly if we integrate the influence of lateral restrictions on the response of various wood species, densified or not.

The first objective concerns the fundamental aspect, which involves developing and testing a new method for modeling hybrid structures in confined wood, based on volume-shell finite element models. The aim is to demonstrate its relevance and applicability to crash-loaded confined wood and hybrid structures. Experimental campaigns were carried out to develop a behavioral model enabling numerical simulation. Correlations between calculations and tests validated the methodology for hybrid dowels. This has led to a methodology that can be directly exploited by industrialists to help in the design of new guardrails in confined wood.

The second objective concerns an application component aimed at validating a new, innovative, high-performance concept using local, lightweight materials with high availability and value-added potential. This modeling methodology must both provide consistent results with regard to experimental observations in reasonable simulation times, including in an optimization context. The final year of the thesis should enable validation on a hybrid guardrail design that outperforms existing solutions and meets Canadian standards.