Lecturer 5
Wood
Introduction to Wood
One of the oldest known materials of construction
Naturally renewable building material
One of the most popular in light construction due to
Simplicity in fabrication
Lightness
Reusability
Environmental compatibility
Physical and Mechanical
Properties of Wood
The physical and
mechanical properties of
wood varies
tremendously even
within a tree
Properties of Wood
Physical Properties of Wood
A log or trunk is surrounded by a rough and dense
covering called bark
Inside the bark exist a thin layer of wood cells
(cambium) where the growth of wood takes place
continuously
Growth results in a ring like structure - annual ring
Rapidly growing trees having wide annual rings produce
coarse-grained wood
Slow-growing trees having narrower annual rings
produce fine-grained wood
Physical Properties of Wood
Wood grain refers to the wood arrangement of wood
fibers
Growth rings are found in most hardwood and softwood
except palm and coconut
The centre of the log (pith) is surrounded by the annual
ring- approximate age of the tree
Physical Properties of Wood
In most species, each annual rings appears in 2 layers
(inner and outer layer)
The inner layer represent rapid spring growth refer as
springwood or early wood
The outer layer represent heavier, harder, stronger
material refer as summerwood
The proportion of summerwood to springwood effect
the density of wood, which turn effect its strength
Physical Properties of Wood
The inner part of trunk (heartwood) is made of death
tissue and the primary function of this part is to provide
mechanical support to the tree
The outer part of trunk is known as sapwood
The difference of the density and strength between the
heartwood and sapwood are very small
The sapwood is less durable and more permeable than
heartwood
Physical Properties of Wood
A section of a branch
showing 27 annual
growth rings, pale
sapwood and dark
heartwood, and pith
(centre dark spot)
The dark radial lines are
small knots
Categories of Wood
Hardwood
Has broad leaves which produce seeds in a shell
Evergreen in the tropics and deciduous (lose their leaves
once a year) in temperate zone
Example-Oak, Maple and Ash
Softwood
Come from coniferous tree which produce cones and has
needlelike leaves and generally evergreen
Example- Larch, Pine and Redwood
Density of Wood
The density of wood is defined as the mass per unit
volume
It is related directly to porosity or proportion of the
voids.
Specific Gravity of Wood
Specific gravity is the ratio between the density of
wood and the density of water
The specific gravity is determine in three conditions
Green
Air-dry
Oven-dry
Defects of Wood
The strength and durability of wood affected by the
presence of defects
Common defects are
Cracks
Knots
Slope of grain
Shrinkage of Wood
When the water in the cell cavities evaporates, no
reduction in cross-sectional dimension is seen
When the wood dries further, the water is driven out
the cell wall, leading to changes in cross-sectioning
dimension is called shrinkage of wood
The shrinkage varies with species, thickness of cell
walls, arrangement of cells and grain pattern
Drying of Wood
The process of controlled drying of lumber to increase
its structural properties is known as seasoning
Drying can
Increase strength
Lowering the shrinkage
Improve the decay resistance
Reduction in weight
Better durability
Methods of Drying
Air drying
Kiln drying
Air Drying
Air-drying reduces moisture content to between 15 and
20%
For a 2.5cm thickness of timber air drying takes around
one year for hardwoods and six months for softwoods
Timber poles are often dried this way
The ends of the timber lose moisture fasted and are
sometimes painted to protect them
Air Drying
Kiln Drying
This method reaches the desired moisture content
within a period of a few days to a week
The maximum thickness of timber for kiln drying is
around 45mm
Kilns can be electric, solar or fuel (e.g. oil) powered
Kiln Drying
Types of Wood Product
Glulam (Glue-Laminated Timber)
Panel products
Veneered panels (Plywood)
Non-veneered panels
Particleboards
Fibreboards
Glulam
Consist of sawn lumber laminations bonded with an
adhesive so that the grain of all laminations runs
parallel with the long direction
The strength of glulam is stronger in a longitudinal
direction and weaker in transverse direction
These structural members are used as vertical columns
or horizontal beams, often in curved, arching shapes
Glulam
Veneered Panel (Plywood)
Made of thin sheets of wood, the layers are glued together,
each with its grain at right angles to adjacent layers for
greater strength
There are usually an odd number of plies, as the symmetry
makes the board less prone to warping, and the grain on
the outside surfaces runs in the same direction
The plies are bonded under heat and pressure with strong
adhesives, usually phenol formaldehyde resin, making
plywood a type of composite material
A common reason for using plywood instead of plain wood
is its resistance to cracking, shrinkage, twisting/warping,
and its general high degree of strength
Veneered Panel (Plywood)
Particleboards
Particleboard is made from small particles of wood and
and is sometimes called chipboard, flakeboard,
splinterboard, waferboard, strandboard, and oriented
strainboard depending on their particles and their
orientation
Particles are pieces of wood smaller than veneer sheet
but larger than wood fiber
The raw materials for the manufacturing of particles
come from many sources, such as plywood mill wasted,
sawdust, round wood, planer shavings, and wood
residue
Residues from the milling operation are commonly used
as particles
Particleboards
Fiberboard
Fiberboard comes into two types,
High density fiberboard (Hardboard)
Medium density fiberboard
Fibers are slender threadlike elements or a group of wood fibers
resulting from chemical or mechanical defiberization, or both
A number of raw materials, such as coarse residues from other
forest products, bagasse, wastepaper, and pulp chips can be used
in manufacturer of fibers
The raw materials are broken down into fibers through thermal-
mechanical treatment
Then the fibers are interfelted under controlled conditions of hot
pressing
This will cause the rebonding of the lignin, which in addition to the
binding agents added will produce a bonded panel products
Hard Density Fiberboard
Medium Density Fiberboard
The End
