A MODEL FOR VISCOELASTIC CONSOLIDATION OF WOOD-STRAND MATS .1. STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MAT VIA MONTE-CARLO SIMULATION

A procedure using Monte Carlo simulation was developed to characterize the spatial structure of randomly formed, wood-strand mars. The simul ation reproduces the number of strands in the centroids of imaginary s trand columns of finite size. The vertical distances between the adjac ent strands and the location of the column centroid relative to the co nstant length of each strand are also simulated. A data base was colle cted on realistic mats produced from strands of constant size and non- planar geometries (i.e., random bow, cup, and twist). The procedure ca n be used in a model for predicting the mechanical behavior of random strand mats during consolidation.