Estudo das propriedades mecânicas da algaroba para uso como elemento estrutural.

Abstract

Wood is one of the building materials most used by man since prehistoric times. The algaroba is a tree that can reach up to 20 meters in height, with a short and sinuous trunk that can reach about 8 meters and a diameter of 0.8 meters. Its wood is compact, elastic and heavy, and it has good texture, right grain, good natural durability and presents dimensional stability, being good quality wood for carpentry and joinery, being used for making of rustic furniture, sleepers, poles, mourões. In this work, pieces of algaroba with moisture content of approximately 9.16% were tested and subjected to the tests of parallel compression to the fibers, traction parallel to the fibers, shear parallel to the fibers and flexion. As a function of the values of compressive strength parallel to the fibers, shear strength parallel to the fibers, and modulus of elasticity, the algaroba wood is very close to those classified as belonging to class C60. This wide utility makes the algaroba a wood with great potential of economic transformation of the arid regions of Brazil.