Behavioral characteristics of building materials

Timber
1. Timber is derived from Timbrian means ‘built’.
2. Timber is obtained from trees not less than 600 mm in circumference.
3. Three types of timber
a. Converted – is sawn and cut into suitable sizes
b. Rough – after felling of trees
c. Standing – living tree
4. Properties of good timber
Low heat conductivity
Amenability
Small bulk density
Relatively high strength
5. Drawbacks of timber
Susceptibility to decay
Inflammability
Fluctuations due to moisture content
Variations in strength, length
6. Wood waste – saw dust, shavings are used with admixture of organic glues
to make fiber-slabs, fiber boards.
7. Other uses of wood – organic acids, rosin, paper, cardboard, cellulose.
8. Age of the wood capable of producing quality timber with adequate girth is
50 yrs.
9. Babul, Eucalyptus, poplar, sissioo (20 yrs).
10. A single tree can cool the summer heat for an entire day and night and is
found better than 20 ACs running for 20 Hrs.
11. A hectare of trees produce about 10 times of O2 (for 45 persons for 1 year)

Item Soft wood Hard wood

Annual rings Distinct Opposite
Color Light ”
Fire resistance Poor ”
Modular rays Indistinct ”
Strength Strong for direct pull and weak for
”
resisting thrust or shear
Structure Resinous and split easily ”
Weight Light ”

12. Defects in timber

a. Conversion
b. Fungi
c. Insects
d. Natural forces
e. Seasoning
13. Qualities of good timber
a. Hard and shining appearance
b. Color is dark
c. Free from knots, flaws, shakes
d. Should be durable
e. Should be elastic
f. Should have straight fibers
g. Fire resistance
h. Hardness
i. Should not deteriorate easily due to mechanical wear
j. Capable of retaining its shape while burning
k. Sweet smell
l. Clear ringing sound when struck
m. Sound in wood is 2 to 17 times greater than in air.
n. Strong for working as structural member such as joint, beam, rafters.
o. Toughness – capable of resisting shocks
p. Low water permeability
q. Stand for weathering effect
r. Heavy weight
Bamboo
1. Flexible, very strong and durable.
 2. Used for scaffolding, thatched roofs, rafters, temporary bridges, fancy
goods.

Bricks
1. Prepared by moulding clay in rectangular blocks of uniform size.
2. Bricks are durable and having strength, reliability, low cost, easy
availability.
3. Great Wall of China (210 BC) by burnt and sun dried bricks.
4. India has production capacity to manufacture over 10000 crores.
5. Compositions of good brick earth
Use
20-30% alumina (plasticity for moulding)
50-60% silica (prevents cracks, shrinks, wrapping)
5% lime (prevents shrinkage)
5-6% oxide of iron (as lime to fuse sand and provides red color
Magnesia (yellow tint, decrease shrinkage)

6. Harmful ingredients
Effect
Excess of lime (lumps)
Iron pyrites (crystallized and disintegrated)
Alkalies (cause bricks fuse, twists, wrap)
Pebbles (unregulations)
Vegetation & (porous)
Organic matter

7. Classification of brick earth

Ingredient Loamy, mild or Marls, chalky or Plastic, strong or
sandy clay calcareous clay pure clay
Alumina 27% 10 34
Silica 66 35 50
Lime & magnesia 1 48 6
Oxide of iron 1 3 8
Organic matter 5 4 2

8. Qualities of good bricks

a. Table moulded, well burnt, copper colored, free from cracks with
sharp and square edges.
b. Uniform in shape and standard size.
c. Should give clear metallic ringing sound
d. When broke should show a bright homogeneous and uniform compact
structure free from voids.
e. Should not absorb water > 20% by weight when soaked in cold water
for 24 Hrs.
f. Sufficiently hard, no impression should be left when scratched.
g. Should not break into pieces when drop from 1 Mt height.
h. Low thermal conductivity and sound proof.
i. Should not show deposits of white salts when allowed to dry in shade
after soaked in water.
j. Should not have crushing strength < 5.5 N/mm2.

Concrete
1. The tensile and shear strengths are about 8 to 12 % and 8 to 10 % of their
compressive strengths respectively.
2. The comprehensive strength of concrete is influenced by
 Quality of materials
 Water
 Water – cement ratio
 Age of concrete
 Cement content
 Methods of mixing placing, curing

3. generally the strength decrease with increase in degree of workability

4. With the age, the concrete goes on hardening, there by increase in strength
5. not truly elasticity modulus is influenced by strength, age, moisture content
 6. Concrete under goes extra strain on application of load is called creep of
concrete which , not recovered on removal of load
7. Concrete is a good insulator
8. When used with steel in R.C.C,it can with stand both compressive and
tensile stresses
9. Free from corrosion
10. Concrete is proved to economical than steel
11. Other types
 Vibrated concrete – for high compressive strength
 Light weight concrete – for fire resistance, partitions
 Vaccum concrete – for more strength
 Lime, surkhi concrete – for economy
12.
Proportion Max. size of aggregate Nature of construction
1:1:2 12 to 20 mm Loaded R.C.C columns and R.C.C
arches
1:2:2 12 – 20 Small precast member like,
fencing poles, water tight
constructions
1:2:3/3:5:10 20 Water tanks, bridges, sewers
2:5:7 25 Foot path, concrete roads
1:2:4 40 R.C.C work, stairs, beams,
columns, sunshades, slabs, lintels
1:3:5 50 Mass concrete works in culverts,
retaining walls.
1:4:8/1:5:10/1:6:12 60 Heavy walls, foundation footings

Glass
 1. Is a mixture of number of metallic silicates, one of which is usually that of
an alkali metals
2. it is basically a hard, brittle, trans par cut material
3. Not effected by ordinary chemical reagents, air or water.
4. Possible to weld pieces of glass by fusion
5. Affected by alkalis but can take up high polish
6. Provides excellent electric insulation due to uncertain crystalline structure
7. Absorbs, refracts or transmits light
8. Available in colors, no sharp melting points

Design of structural elements in wood, steel, RCC

Wood

1. Art of cutting, framing and placing of raw timber in a position is called

carpentry and joinery
2. timber which is thus dressed and finally placed in position is called wrought
and put up
3. The art of cutting of wood by means of saws is called sawing
4. Process of planning off the flat edges off timber piece to form an angle 45
deg is called chamfering
5. The process of chamfering, if the angle formed is other than 45 deg is
known as bevel
6. Taking the shaving of wood is called planning
7. Process of shaping the various units of construction by hand or machine to
produce molded sections is called moulding.
8. The process of joining two boards or pieces of timber at an angle I called
mitring.
9. This is the process of cutting away a rectangular portion from the edge of
timber piece for sufficient depth is called rebating
 10. Dressing the edges of the boards so as to male them straight and square
with the face is called shooting
11. The sinking of the edge of one piece of timber in to another is called
housing
12. The semi circular object formed on edges or surfaces of wood is called bead
13. Covering the entire or part of surface with veneers is called veneering
14. Method of joining two boards at right angle is called Dovetailing

Steel
1. Plats may be of any size or thickness butt generally they are not rolled to
thickness <5 mm and> 28 mm
2. Maximum area of rolled plates is limited to 30 sq.m
3. plates < 4mm in thickness are sheets
4. Flats are rolled as in the case of plate but are much longer in lengths and
have shorter widths
5. Widths vary from 18mm to 50 mm, thickness – 3 mm to 8 mm
6. Angles

 Equal legs – 2 cm * 2 cm to 20 cm to 20 cm, 3 mm to 5 mm

 Unequal legs – 2 cm*3 cm to 22 cm *10 cm, 4 mm – 20 mm

7. T section – 4 cm*4 cm to 15*15 cm, 6 mm to 8 mm

8. Channels – 5*7 pow(1/2)*3 kg to 42*10*30 kg
9. Joists – 7*4 to 60*17 cm]
10. Uses

 Plats – as webs and flanges of deep beams, column flanges, column

bases
  Flats – considerable use
 Angle – used in diff. components
 T section – for roof trusses and for certain built up columns
 Channels – beams, columns
 Joists/I – section – beams columns

11. Riveting – the common practice to connect the members by rivets.

12. Rivets used in building construction are made of soft steel with a tensile
strength of 3500 to 4000 kg/cm sq
13. Lap joint connections – connecting plates are lapped one over the other and
riveted
14. Butt joint connection – connected with the aid of additional plants
15. Welded connected – the diameter of the holes is kept 1 mm larger than
external diameter of the bolt thread.

Structural members
1. Steel beams – include girders, lintels etc
2. Simplest beam consists of a single rolled steel joint section or an angle
section
3. To take greater loads, compound sections are used
4. plate girders are used when very large loads have to be carried
5. Beams carrying light loads and where the shearing forces are not excessive,
open web beams are used.
6. If the beam is accommodated below the top flange of the girder the
connection is called under girder flange.
7. If the top flange of the beam and portion of the web is cut off so as to
accommodate the top flange of the order that is called top flush.
8. When a beam at a lower level is to be connected to a girder at a higher level
that is called blocked connection.
9. Beams meeting at higher levels with the girder are called blocked and
elevated connection.
10. If beams and girders are connected at different levels, is called hanger
connections.