Analysis of Shear Behavior and Fracture Characteristics of Plywood in Cryogenic Environment

Abstract

Plywood is a laminated wood material where alternating layers are perpendicular to each other. It is used in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier for an insulation system because it has excellent durability, a light weight, and high stiffness. An LNG cargo containment system (LNG CCS) is subjected to loads from gravity, sloshing impact, hydrostatic pressure, and thermal expansion. Shear forces are applied to an LNG CCS locally by these loads. For these reasons, the materials in an LNG CCS must have good mechanical performance. This study evaluated the shear behavior of plywood. This evaluation was conducted from room temperature (25 °C) to cryogenic temperature (-163 °C), which is the actual operating environment of an LNG storage tank. Based on the plywood used in an LNG storage tank, a shear test was conducted on specimens with thicknesses of 9 mm and 12 mm. Analyses were performed on how the temperature and thickness of the plywood affected the shear strength. Regardless of the thickness, the strength increased as the temperature decreased. The 9 mm thick plywood had greater strength than the 12 mm thick specimen, and this tendency became clearer as the temperature decreased.

Keywords

• liquefied gas storage tank
• cryogenic
• plywood
• shear behavior
• fracture characteristic