ECA 2133

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND

Wood
 Lumber
• Lumber can be broadly classified as
– Framing lumber
• Grades intended for structural applications for
conventional and pre-engineered framing system
– Appearance lumber
• Nonstructural grades intended for application where
strength properties are not primary consideration
– Industrial lumber
• Structural and nonstructural grades intended for variety
applications such as mining, scaffolding and foundation
 Grading
• Stress grading rules incorporate a sorting or grading criterion,
a set of allowable stress values and a grade name
• The grading or sorting is accomplished visually or through
nondestructive measurements
• Up to six allowable properties are associated with a stress
grade
– Modulus of elasticity
– Tensile stress parallel to grain
– Compressive stress parallel to grain
– Compressive stress perpendicular to grain
– Shear stress parallel to grain
– Bending stress.
 Axes of Wood
• Woods has unique independent properties in
the three mutually perpendicular axes:
– Longitudinal
– Radial
– Tangential
• The longitudinal axis is parallel to the grain
• The tangential axis is perpendicular to the grain
but tangent to annual ring
• The radial axis is normal to the annual rings
 Axes of Wood
• The modulus of elasticity in the longitudinal direction is the
highest depending on the species
• The modulus of elasticity depends on the moisture content
and deceases
• Compressive strength of lumber parallel to the grain is
much higher than the perpendicular to grain
• Columns, posts, and members of a truss are subjected to
axial loads parallel to the grain of wood
• Lumber has very good bending strength and combined its
lightness, remains one of the important flexural materials in
light construction
 Axes of Wood
• It is use as beam, joists, rafters, headers, and other
members that are subjected to bending moment
• When a clear wood specimen is subjected to tensile
forces parallel to the grain, it is found to have the
greatest of all strength characteristics
• Tensile strength parallel to the grain is about two to
four times the compressive strength parallel to the
grain
• Failure in a tension specimen is characterized by
transverse rupturing of the cell walls
 Axes of Wood
• Knots generally reduce the tensile strength which, however,
seems to be less effected by the moisture content than are
the mechanical properties
• A flexural member is always subjected to shear forces
• The resulting horizontal shear stress at the neutral axis of a
wood beam may cause shear failure
• Most hardwood has higher shear strengths than those of
most softwood
• Defects such as knots and shakes decrease the area under
shear, and the calculated shear strength of lumber with
these defects is lower than that of clear wood
 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
 Protection of Timber
• Timber or lumber may be treated with a preservative that protects it
from being destroyed by insects, fungus or exposure to moisture
• Generally this is applied through combined vacuum and pressure
treatment
• The preservatives used to pressure-treat lumber are classified as
pesticides; due to potential hazards to humans and the environment,
some are being phased out
• Treating lumber provides long-term resistance to organisms that cause
deterioration
• If it is applied correctly, it extends the productive life of lumber by five to
ten times
• If left untreated, wood that is exposed to moisture or soil for sustained
periods of time will become weakened by various types of fungi, bacteria
or insects.
 Construction of Timber
• Timber should be seasoned and kept dry before use
• Unseasoned timber is known as green timber
• Building with green timber requires skills and expertise, as it can
expand, split and contract as it dries out
• Unless design and construction take into account the expected
• contraction and warping of the wood, then buildings may leak or
even fail
• In some cases, training on construction with green timber may be
required
• Green timber should only be used if there are the local skills in its
use and construction design takes into account the contraction of
the timber
Construction of Timber
 Jointing Timber
• For simple constructions, timber is most
commonly jointed by nails, pegs, screws or
bolts
• Joints can be strengthened with gang plates
(metal plates nailed either side of a joint to
provide strength) or metal strapping
• All joints should be made so that they
strongest against the direction of the forces on
the joint
Jointing Timber
 Jointing Timber
• Nailed joints are strongest when the forces act across
the nail rather than in a direction that will pull it from
the joint
• Do not procure nails that are too large as they will
split the timber
• Properly sized screws or bolts are stronger than nails,
they allow the timber to be recycled at the end of the
use of the anticipated lifetime of the building, but are
slower and require drills and screwdrivers or spanners
• Bolts need washers
 Jointing Timber
• Wood treated with copper-based
preservatives can corrode fasteners (nails,
screws, bolts, brackets)
• To minimize corrosion, steel fasteners can be
coated, or made from copper or stainless
steel, although these may be expensive
Jointing Timber
Jointing Timber
 Jointing Timber
• Pegs can be used to hold pieces of timber together
• The geometry of the joint should hold the load, the
pegs only keep the timbers in place
• Pegs should only be used if the local carpenters have
the skills to build with them
• Pegs should be made from timber that will not swell or
shrink such as seasoned hardwood
• Dowels and Biscuits are smaller pieces of wood that
are used internally to a joint – more often in furniture
making than in construction
Jointing Timber
 Jointing Timber
• Binding timber with wire or rope (especially
bush poles) is a very common way of building
• If bound tightly, a strong joint can be formed
• To make lashings as tight as possible, each
turn should be tightened as it is made
• “Frapping” turns should be wrapped around
the binding to further tighten the lashing
Jointing Timber
 Jointing Timber
• Metal straps and braces are simple ways to
strengthen nailed joints
• A distribution of metal straps in an earthquake zone
would be a quick and simple way to protect timber
buildings
• Gang-nailed plates need a press so they may not be
appropriate for emergency or on-site work
• Specialised metal plates with bolts can be used as
joints, although specifying them may lead to delays
due difficulties in procurement
Jointing Timber