Design of
Timber
Structures
CE 41014
U Khin Maung Tint
Outlines of the Presentation
• Chapter 2 (Physical and Mechanical Properties of Wood)
• Physical Properties of Wood
• Moisture Content
• Effect of Moisture Content
• Directional Properties
• Strength Properties of Clear Wood
• Principles used in the Determination of Allowable Stresses
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Chapter 2
(Physical and Mechanical Properties of Wood)
Physical Properties – Moisture content, Temperature, Sound, etc…
Mechanical Properties – Allowable Stresses of wood
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Physical Structures of Wood
• Wood is a cellular organic material.
• Wood cells are hollow and they vary from about 0.04
to 0.33 inch in length, and form 0.0004 to 0.0033 inch
in diameter.
• Most cells are elongated and are oriented vertically in
the growing tree, but some called rays, are oriented
horizontally and extend from the bark toward the
center, or pitch of the tree.
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Figure- Wood cells of softwood and hardwood
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Moisture Content
• Moisture content (MC) is the weight of the water contained in wood,
expressed as a percentage of the oven-dry wood.
• An oven-dry condition is reached when no further loss of weight is
experienced on subsequent oven-drying at 214°F to 221 °F.
• As wood loses moisture, the water in the cell capacity is evaporated
first,
• The condition at which the water in the cell cavity has been evaporated
but the cell wall is still saturated, is known as “fiber saturation point”.
• This is usually at approximately 30% MC.
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Effect of Moisture Content
• Between zero moisture content and the fiber saturation
point, wood shrinks as it loses moisture and swells as it
absorbs moisture.
• Above the fiber saturation point, there is no dimensional
change with variation in moisture content.
• The amount of shrinkage and swelling differs in the
tangential, radial and longitudinal dimensions of the piece. Are you
sleepy?
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• Shrinkage occurs when the moisture content is reduced to a
value below the fiber saturation point.
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Effect of Moisture Content
• Swelling occurs when the moisture content is increased until the
fiber saturation point is reached.
• For each 1% decrease in moisture content below the fiber saturation
point, wood shrinks about one-thirtieth of the total possible
shrinkage.
• For each 1% increase in moisture content, the piece swells about
one-thirtieth of the total possible swelling.
• The total swelling is equal numerically to the total shrinkage.
• Shrinking and swelling are expressed as percentages based on the
green dimensions of the wood.
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Effect of Moisture Content
• Wood shrinks most in a direction tangent to the annual
growth rings and somewhat less in the direction of radial, or
across these rings.
• In general, shrinkage is greater in heavier pieces than in
lighter pieces of the same species, and greater in hardwoods
than in softwoods.
• Values for longitudinal shrinkage with a change in moisture
content are normally not tabulated, since they are ordinally
negligible.
• The total longitudinal shrinkage of normal species from fiber ATTeNTIoN
saturation to oven-dry condition usually ranges form 0.1 to pleAse
0.3% of the green dimension. 9
Effect of Moisture Content
• 𝐷 =
• Where, Ds = shrinkage or swelling (in)
Mi = initial moisture content, % ( 30 % max)
Mf = final moisture content, % ( 30% max)
Di = dimension at initial moisture content (in)
30 = fiber saturation point , %
Ts = total tangential shrinkage, % ( 100 %)
Rs = total radial shrinkage, % (100 %)
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Break Time (5 min)
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Directional Properties
• Wood is non-isotropic because of the orientation
of its cells and the manner in which it increases
in diameter.
• It has different mechanical properties with
respect to its three principal axes of symmetry:
Longitudinal, radial and tangential.
• L = Longitudinal (Parallel to grain)
• R= Radial ( Perpendicular to grain)
• T= Tangential (Perpendicular to grain, tangential
to annual ring)
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Directional Properties
• The difference between properties in the radial and tangential
directions is seldom of practical importance in most structural
designs.
• For structural purposes, it is sufficient to differentiate only between
properties ( parallel and particular to the grain).
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Strength Properties of Clear Wood
• The principal strength properties of interest to users of structural wood are
1. Compression parallel to grain (to design columns and other members subjected to
compression such as arches, chords of truss)
2. Compression perpendicular to grain (to design end bearings of beams and connections
bearing across the grain)
3. Tension parallel to grain (to design the bottom chords of truss and some web members of
simply supported trusses)
4. Static bending ( for members subjected to the action of traverse loads such as beams and
floor planks)
5. Shear parallel to grain (for members subjected to the action of traverse loads such as
beams and floor planks)
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Principles used in the Determination of
Allowable Stresses
• Allowable Stresses are given in Table (A).
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Thank you for your attention
See u next week
Homework- Read
Exam are coming soon.
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