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CIVE233 2021-22 Timber Lab Brief v1

The document provides instructions for a timber lab assignment to test timber joists of different grades under bending. Students will conduct four-point bending tests to obtain load-deflection data and calculate key metrics like initial stiffness, global modulus of elasticity, and bending strength. They will also analyze failure modes and discuss advantages of timber as a sustainable construction material. The report should include an introduction on timber grading and testing, the experimental procedure, results with photos and measurements, calculated values, and conclusions.

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PRATEEK SHARMA
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58 views

CIVE233 2021-22 Timber Lab Brief v1

The document provides instructions for a timber lab assignment to test timber joists of different grades under bending. Students will conduct four-point bending tests to obtain load-deflection data and calculate key metrics like initial stiffness, global modulus of elasticity, and bending strength. They will also analyze failure modes and discuss advantages of timber as a sustainable construction material. The report should include an introduction on timber grading and testing, the experimental procedure, results with photos and measurements, calculated values, and conclusions.

Uploaded by

PRATEEK SHARMA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL

Civil and Architectural Engineering

TIMBER LAB – BRIEF (2021-22) v1

MODULE CODE CIVE233


MT2 Structural tests on
ASSIGNMENT TITLE
timber joists

Date set Semester 1: See Y2 Lab Timetable


See Y2 Lab Timetable: Two weeks
Required date of submission
after lab date
Penalty scheme for late
Standard University scheme
submission

Aim: Enable students to understand the structural behaviour of timber joists


with different grades and to learn how to conduct a structural test to obtain key
data and characterise structural performance.

Materials: Ungraded timber, C16 and C24 timber joists

Recommended reading (e versions available from the library):


 Construction Materials, Edited by Peter Domone and John Illston, London:
Spon, 2010
 Structural timber design to EC5 by J Porteous and A Kermani
 EN408 (2010) (optional)

At the end of this assignment (and by reference to material in lectures


and especially, independent reading) a student should be able to:
 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of timber as a construction
material
 Discuss the important contribution that timber can make to sustainability
 Explain how timber is graded
 Measure the moisture content of a timber joist using a moisture meter
 Design and conduct a bending test on timber joists
 Process experimental data from a structural test
 Produce a load-deflection curve
 Calculate the initial stiffness, the global modulus of elasticity (MoE global) and
bending strength or modulus of rupture (MoR) of a timber joist
 Discuss the mechanism(s) by which joists tested in the lab fail in bending

1
General
All calculations are to be on a calculation pad (can be bought from the Support
Office) or make use of a Word based calculation sheet or make use of an iPad or
similar, to electronically produce manual calculations. Please do not use the
equation editor in Word or similar software to laboriously create hand calcs.

All code clauses to be referenced. Calculations are to be neat and set out in a clear
and logical manner. After completing your lab work, if you believe that you are
lacking any information or if you have any questions, then please make an
assumption. So long as the assumption is sensible no marks will be deducted.

Instructions for the lab report


The lab report must be neatly laid out in the usual manner and should be based on
the following table, giving information on layout, content and marking.

Mark
(%)
Abstract Summary of the experiment and its outcomes 5
Introductio 1. Discussion of the advantages and disadvantages
n of timber as a construction material
2. Discussion of how timber can be a useful
construction material in relation to the climate
20
emergency
3. Explanation of how testing like this contributes
to the grading of timber in industry
4. What the report contains and how it is laid out
Experiment 1. Experimental procedures
al work 2. Test setup and how measurements are made
15
3. Materials used: timber joist type, grade, nominal
dimensions and description
Results and Visual features of joists including photos and
15
discussion measurements (estimated if necessary)
Moisture content
Measured dimensions of joists 15
Load deflection tables and graphs
Calculations of:
1. Initial stiffness 15
2. Global modulus of elasticity (MoEglobal)
3. Bending strength (MoR)
Failure modes 10
Conclusions 5
Total 100

2
Useful information for processing the lab report data

A timber joist under 4 – point bending is


shown in Fig. 1
F

Load (kN)
b
2
h F2 -F1
1
def2 -def1
Deflection (mm)

Fig. 1. A timber joist subjected to 4-point bending

The two points 1 and 2 are chosen such that the line on the graph between them is
a straight one that represents the stiffness of the joist in bending. Inevitably, this
includes both elastic deformation and shear deformation. However, for our
purposes, we will ignore the shear deformation.

A simple illustration of the initial stiffness can be gained from:

F 2−F1
S= ¿ −¿ ( kN /mm )
2 1

However, it is easy to improve on this. For any beam with simple supports and
negligible shear deformation the basic formulae can be taken from the Steel
Designer’s Manual, as shown in Figure 2.

Fig. 2. Formulae for bending moment, reactions and deflection

Thus, rearranging the above equation for dmax, for a joist of height (h) and breadth
(b) with two point loads of magnitude F/2 (due to the ram in the apparatus exerting
a force F onto the rig), and with unknown E value but with known deflection (w2 –
w1), this becomes:

3
2 3
3 a L −4 a ( 2
Em ,global = N / mm )
3 w 2−w 1
4 bh
(
F 2−F1 )
This is virtually the same as Equation (2) used in EN408 (2010) for calculating the
global modulus of elasticity of timber joists in bending. Remember that our
equation ignores shear deflection to keep things simple.

The bending strength (MoR) of the joist can also be found using simple structural
analysis, considering the bending moment at maximum load and the elastic section
modulus of the joist. The length between each point load and its closest support is
( L−Li )
a=
2
Here is the equation for MoR:

3 F ( L−Li )
MoR= 2
( N /mm2 )
2bh

Notes (all to be confirmed during the lab itself)


1. The nominal size of the joists is b = 50mm, h = 100mm. Actual sizes of joists
are to be determined in the lab.
2. Unless noted otherwise in the lab, the rate of application of load to the joists
is 0.1 kN/second. This must be confirmed in the lab.
3. Distance L between supports is 1600mm. This must be confirmed in the lab.
4. Load points are at third points, i.e.
L
a=Li=
3

4
Calculation Sheet
Project

Calculations for
Originator Date Page of Revision
Reference Calculations Output

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