CIE 817

Properties and utilization of Timber

Rowland Adéwùmí, PhD(Lon) MSc(Lon) FNSE FNICE FIMC
 INTRODUCTION
◼ LEARNING OUTCOMES
◼ SYLLABUS
◼ LESSON PLAN

Learning outcomes
At the end of the lecture student will be able to;
– Design timber beam, column, wood trusses
and timber deck
– Design the glued laminated timber members
– Understand the properties of timber its
variations as structural members
Timber building
Architect Wooi Lok Kuang
 CLASSIFICATION OF TIMBER

MODE OF MODULUS OF DURABILITY GRADING AVAILABILITY

GROWTH ELASTICITY

HIGH
ENDOGENOUS GRADE 1 X
GROUP A ; E = 12.5 DURABILITY
kN/mm2

MODERATE
EXOGENOUS DURABILITY GRADE 2 Y
GROUP B: E = 9.8
kN/mm2 to 12.5
kN/mm2
LOW
Z
DURABILITY

GROUP C:E = 5.6

kN/mm2 to 9.8
kN/mm2
 TYPES OF TREES
Trees are classified into two groups depending
upon growth pattern.

ENDOGENOUS TREES EXOGENOUS TREES

The trees which grow inwards
in longitudinal fibrous mass are The trees which grow outwards
called endogenous trees. across the horizontal section of a
stem are called exogenous trees
 EXOGENOUS
TREES

CONIFERS
OR DECIDUOU
EVERGREE S
N

They give soft wood and

have pointed leaves They give hard wood and have
broad leaves
Examples : Pine, Deodar,
Kail etc. Examples: Teal, Sal, Sheesham etc.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF TIMBER
1. COLOUR: color can be uniform, mottled/streaked. Light color indicates weak timber

2. Fresh cut timbers have a good smell.

3. For the resistance of any kind of damage, hardness is an obvious property

4. Specific Gravity : It depends on pores present inside timber.

5. Moisture Content : Timbers are hygroscopic and gain water from nature. If timbers
moisture content is high that means the timber quality is low

6. Good quality timbers swell less. Timbers having thicker wall swell more than a thinner one.

7. Timber has to have the capability to bear shocks, jerk. Anti-bending and ant splitting
characteristic is needed.

8. Best quality timbers have the highest strength. the strength of timber is different at different points. Grain
structure determines the strength of the timber.
◼ Compressive strength: 500 kg/cm2 to 700 kg/cm2 load is enough to test timbers strength.
◼ Tensile strength: When timber is enough strong to the tensile force. If perpendicular force is made then
timber is weaker. 500-2000 kg/cm2 is the range of tensile strength load.
◼ Transverse strength: Enough bending strength indicates good quality timber.
USES OF TIMBER
◼ Used for load bearing structures like beams, columns,
trusses and piles.

◼ Used for construction of railway sleepers, fencing

poles, electric poles, gates etc.

◼ Used for light construction works like doors, windows,

flooring and roofing.

◼ Used for temporary work like scaffolding, centering,

shoring and strutting.

◼ Used for manufacture of pulp, cardboard, wall papers,

plywood and boxes.
List of commonly used timber species of Nigeria
Current scenario in timber construction

◼ Usage as the principle material in the construction industry is very

limited and far from satisfactory

◼ Large quantity are mostly limited to temporary structures such as

formwork and structures of minor importance such as roof truss.

◼ Timber being used in a manner not in accordance to good timber

practice i.e not utilizing proper treatment, seasoning and good
design/detailing practice

◼ There are many timber species available in Nigeria. Timber

production usually predominate in the Southern and Eastern parts of
the country and almost all the species were classified based on the
Nigerian Code of Practice (NCP 1973), ranging from highest grade
N1 to the weakest grade N7. Presently, the permissible stress design
approach has become outdated as it has been globally replaced by
the limit state design approach EN 1995, (Abubakar and Muhammad,
2013). Recently, Eurocode 5 (EC5) has replaced (BS, 2002) and is
adopted in many countries around the world.
The
outcome of
timber
industries

Too many deforestation

Tarzan suffers the without replanting
consequences of deforestation
Can engineer recognize the timber
grade/species/quality ??

Grain - // or ⊥

Irregular growth of timber

-The effect is lesser if axially loading but poor in
Mixed species bending resistance
Strong in parallel to grain
Weak in tension perpendicular to grain

Sapwood and heartwood wane

 warp
Slope of grain

Checks/cracks

Need to understand these facts in design for

long life of timber structures
 To reduce the uncertainty in the utilisation
of timber in construction, need
timber/timber product;
◼ Less variability in strength and
dimension
◼ Less effect of strength reducing
characteristics on the strength
properties of timber
◼ stringent manufacturing process
and the product can be certified
Engineered Wood Products

Forintek
Canada
Corp.
Laminated veneer lumber(LVL)

Glued laminated timber (GLULAM)

Parallel grain Finger Glued and

lumber jointing pressed
 Can one day in Nigeria we able to see these structures?

Library in
Australia

Germany large pool

Canada train station

We need engineers and architects, builders,

contractors, housing agencies, timber
industries etc to promote the use of timber as
structural members in Nigera.
 INTRODUCTION
The inherent variability of a material such as timber, which is unique in
its structure and mode of growth, results in characteristics and
properties which are distinct and more complex than those of other
common structural materials such as concrete, steel and brickwork.
Some of the characteristics which influence design and specific to
timber are:

❖ The moisture content

❖ The difference in strength when loads are applied
parallel and perpendicular to grain direction
❖ The duration of the application of the load
❖ The method adopted for the strength grading of the
timber.
 Terms for timber
◼ Timber – are described as
the normal sawn structural
members. Generally, timber
will contain of macroscopic
defects (cracks, knots etc) of
different shapes, sizes and
orientation

◼ Wood – refer to small, clear

specimens, which are free of
any macroscopic defects. So
wood is the basic materials
obtain from trees
 The structure of timber
A tree has three subsystems:
roots trunk and crown;
◼ Roots-spreading through the soil as well
as acting as a foundation enable the
growing tree to withstand wind forces.
They absorb moisture containing
minerals from the soil and transfer it via
the trunk to the crown
◼ Trunk provides rigidity, mechanical
strength and height to maintain the
crown. Also transport moisture and
minerals up to the crown and sap down
from the crown
◼ Crown provides as large as possible a
catchments area covered by leaves. This
produce chemical reactions that form
sugar and cellulose which cause the
growth of the tree
As engineer, concern is only with the with the trunk

Composition of wood

Long thin tabular cells made up of

cellulose and bound together by
substance called lignin.
Cells oriented in the direction of
the axis of the trunk except for
cells called rays run radially across
the trunk.

A tree produces new layer of

wood under the bark in the early
part of every growing seasons
and the layer is called annular
rings, annual rings or growth
rings. The age of a tree may be
determined by counting its
growth ring The cross-section of a trunk
◼ In temperate countries, a tree produces a new layer at early part
of growth seasons and ceases at the end of growth seasons or
during winter months (eccentric rings)
◼ In tropical countries, trees growth throughout the year- more
uniform wood cells
◼ Annular ring is divided into two layers: inner layer made up
relatively large cavities called springwood and outer layer of thick
walls and small cavities called summerwood.
The timber itself can be
differentiated into sapwood and
heartwood
Sapwood
◼ The annular band of cross- sapwood
section nearest to the bark
◼ The living part of the trunk,
where xylem cells are still
living heartwood
◼ Sapwood is lighter in color
compared to heartwood and is
25 – 170 mm wide depending
on species e.g of sapwood trees:
◼ Sapwood acts a medium of
transportation for sap from Jelutong, Rubberwood
and Ramin
roots to the leaves
Cont..
Heartwood
◼ The central core of the wood which is inside the
sapwood is heartwood.
◼ The physiological dead part of the xylem

◼ Cells are lignified and presence of extractives.

◼ Heartwood functions mainly to give mechanical

support or stiffness to the trunk

Sapwood has lower natural resistance to attacks by

fungi and insect and accepts preservative more
easily than heartwood
Types of wood: Hardwoods and softwoods

The terms ‘softwood’ and ‘hardwood’ do not indicate softness or

hardness of particular timbers. In fact, some hardwoods are
softer and lighter than softwoods. The main differences between
hardwoods and softwoods are botanical, and relate to the way
the tree grows and the timber is laid down:
◼ leaves – Hardwoods have broad leaves and lose their leaves
at the end of growing seasons, while softwoods are conifers
and have more needle-like leaves and generally evergreen
◼ colour – Hardwoods often have darker coloured wood, while
softwoods are invariably light in colour. (Note that there are a
number of species of hardwoods with light coloured woods.)
◼ density – Most hardwoods have thicker cell walls than
softwoods. Hardwoods often have higher densities than
softwoods. Again this is not a definitive test, but it does reflect
most of the Australian and Malaysian species.
Characteristics of Characteristics of
softwood hardwood
◼ Quick growth rate, trees ◼ Slow growth rate, takes
can be felled after 30 years time to mature – over 100
resulting in low density years results in higher
timber with relatively low density and strength.
strength. ◼ Generally good durability
◼ Generally poor durability less dependency on
qualities unless treated with preservatives
preservatives ◼ More expensive than
◼ Due to speed of felling, they softwood
are readily available and
comparatively cheap-i.e
rubber trees.
 Microstructure of
softwood and hardwoods

tracheids
 Microstructure of softwood
◼ Softwood derives its strength from
a matrix of cellulose and
hemicellulose molecules bound
together with lignin.
◼ Consists of single cells called
tracheids, which are like straws in
plan
◼ Tracheids function as conduction
and support
◼ The remainder are parenchyma,
ray, resin and pith cells that
primarily store and transit food.
◼ Rays run in radial direction and
allow the convection of liquids to
where they are needed

•The tracheids' vertical orientation with the trees' trunk explains the
bending strength of wood "parallel with the grain direction" and its
susceptibility to splitting "perpendicular to the grain direction."
•Per unit of weight, softwood is stronger than steel.
 Microstructure of hardwood
◼ More complex than softwood.
◼ With additional thick-walled cells
called fibres providing the
structural support and thin-
walled cells called vessels
providing medium for food
conduction
◼ Also consists of distributed
parenchyma cells, and ray cells
wide enough in some species to
be seen easily with the naked
eye.
•The fiber's vertical orientation with
the trunk explains the high bending
strength of hardwoods "parallel with
the grain direction" and its
susceptibility to splitting
"perpendicular to the grain direction."
Physical Properties of timber
Moisture content – behaviour of timber unlike other material significantly influenced by
the existence and variation of its moisture. The moisture content as determined by oven
drying of a test piece

w = 100 (m1 – m2)/m2

Where:
m1 is the mass of the test piece before drying (in g)
m2 is the mass of the test piece after drying (in g)

◼ Moisture contained in “green” timber is held both within the cells (free water) and
within the cell walls (bound water)

◼ The condition in which all free water has been removed but the cell walls are still
saturated is known as the fibre saturation point (FSP)

◼ At levels of moisture above FSP, the physical and mechanical properties remain
constants.

◼ Variations of moisture below FSP cause considerable changes to properties such as

weight, strength, elasticity and shrinkage and durability.

◼ Equilibrium MC at room temperature in timber/wood can be achieved by seasoning

it after being cut from tree.
Seasoning- is the control drying.
Methods:
◼ Air seasoning

➢ in which the timber is stacked

and layered with air-space in
open sided sheds to promote
natural drying
➢ Relatively inexpensive with very
little loss in the quality of timber
➢ Disadvantage- space is
unavailable for long period and
limited control in the space
between the layers and the
stacks.
Kiln drying
◼ Timber is dried out in a
heated, ventilated and
humidified oven.
◼ Requires specialist
equipment and more
expensive in terms of
energy input
◼ Offer control environment
to achieve the required
reduction in moisture
content much quicker.
Timber defects
Defects in timber whether natural or
caused during conversion or seasoning, will
have an effect on structural strength as
well as fixing, stability, durability and
finished appearance of timber

Types of defects
Natural defects – occurs during growing period
Chemical defects- occurs when timber is used in unsuitable positions or in association
with other materials. Timbers such as oak and western red cedar contain tannic acid
and other chemicals which corrode metals.
Conversion defects – due to unsound practice in the use of milling techniques or to
undue economy in attempting to use every possible piece of timber converted from
trunk
Seasoning defects –related to the movement occurs in timber due to change in
moisture
Seasoning Defects in timber
Caused by differential drying out due to
uneven exposure to drying agents such as
wind, sun and applied heat can results in a
number of defects

Natural and conversion defects

Seasoning defects