Republic of the Philippines
BOHOL ISLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
Main Campus, Tagbilaran City
Vision: A premier Science and Technology university for the formation of world class and virtuous human resource for
sustainable development in Bohol and the Country.
Mission: BISU is committed to provide quality higher education in the arts and sciences, as well as in the professional and
technological fields; undertake research and development and extension services for the sustainable development of Bohol and the
country.
____________________________________________________________________________
NAME: ARIEL G. BARGAT INSTRUCTOR: ENGR. JAYSON DIVINO
YR. & SEC: BSCE 4B
TIMBER DESIGN
Properties of Wood and Lumber
Microstructure
Primary structural building block of woods is the
tracheid of fiber cell
Each individual wood cell has four distinct cell wall
layers
Each layer is composed of a combination of three
chemical polymers: cellulose, hemicellulose and
lignin
Macrostructure
Bark – outer layer
Wood – inner sections of the trunk
Cambium – continuous ring of reproductive tissue located
between the sapwood and the inner layer of the bark
Three Principal Axes of Wood
Wood is an anisotropic and orthotropic material o longitudinal axis – parallel to the fiber (grain) direction
Tangential axis – perpendicular to the fiber (grain)
direction and tangent to the growth rings
Radial axis – perpendicular to the fiber (grain)
direction and normal to the growth rings.
Wood as a structural material
Not a processed material
Organic material
Product of the saw and planning mill
Cut to the proper length
Extremely versatile
Mechanical properties vary from each species of wood
Renewable resource
Exceptional strength-to-weight ratio
Building structures / products made of wood requires less overall energy
Disadvantages of wood
Susceptible to termite attack
May not be suitable for critical structures where durability through time is required.
Wood may be renewable but can’t replenish fast enough.
Ductility in earthquakes may be a problem if not detailed properly.
SOME TYPICAL PARTS IN A STRUCTURE
CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO SIZE AND USE
CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO SIZE AND USE
Joists and Planks
Height: 2” to 4”
Width: 4”
Graded for bending strength
Beams and stringers
Nominal dimension: 5”x8” or larger
Graded for bending strength
Posts / Columns
Square with 5” minimum dimension.
Graded primarily for use as columns
Length varies from 6’ – 16’
Nominal and Dressed Sizes
Nominal size
Commercial size designation before dressing and seasoning.
Typical designations are 2x4, 2x6, etc. These are the
designations found in a typical lumber store
Actual size
Refers to the size after dressing and seasoning
Ex: a 2x4 can actually have a size of 1 ½ x 3 ½
Generally there is ¼- 3/4” inch difference from nominal
Use actual size in computing properties of wooden
members
Prudent design practice for wooden members. If:
b = 1”
Subtract ¼”
If b = 2” to 4”
Subtract ½” from b
d < 8” – subtract ½” from d
d > 8” – subtract ¾” from d For beams /
columns 6”x6” or larger
Subtract ½” for b and d
Grading of Lumber
Lumber grading refers to the process of sorting sawmill production according to certain classifications.
Grading is either done through
Visual Stress Grading (VSG)
Machine stress Grading (MSG)
In the Philippines, the visual grading rules of the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) of the USA is used
Visual Grading of Lumber (VSG)
VSG is based on the premise that wood’s properties are affected by growth characteristics that can be easily seen
by the eye.
These growth characteristics or wood defects are used to sort the lumber into stress grades.
Each stress grade has a pre-assigned strength and stiffness values.
Philippine Wood species are grouped into four:
1. High Strength Group (e.g. Yakal, Molave)
2. Moderately High Strength (e.g. Guijo, Narra)
3. Medium Strength (e.g. Apitong, Lauan)
4. Moderately Low Strength (e.g. Barok, Raintree)
Each strength group or wood specie is then graded into three stress grades
1. 80%
2. 63%
3. 50%
ALLOWABLE STRESS FROM NSCP
Visual Stress Grading - Disadvantages
Species identification is required to determine the value of the working stress
Absence of labels to differentiate stress grades
Problem in identifying the wood species have prompted designers to use 50% stress grades
Some grades and sizes may not be available in the market. Check availability of construction material prior to
design.
Mechanical Stress Grading
Uses non-destructive evaluation
Material is tested to get Modulus of Elasticity, E (E can be known when the stress and strain of the material are
known given a force).
The Forest Products Research & Development Institute (FPRDI) proposed MSG in sorting structural lumber into
groups according to strength, with each group having a set of predetermined structural design properties.
Mechanical Stress Grading (MSG)
The MSG stress groups are M5, M10, M15, M20 and M25. For Example M5 means the allowable bending
strength is 5MPa.
No need to identify wood species.
WOOD DEFECTS
Checks, shakes and splits all constitute separations of wood fibers
Mechanical Properties
Bending and Tension Parallel to grain
Compression Parallel to grain
Note: this property refers to the strength of the material for compression.
Buckling is usually the determining factor for compression members
Compression Perpendicular to grain
Shear parallel to grain
Modulus of Elasticity – varies for each specie
