Discussion ( Khairul Anwar bin Zainuddin – 64816)

Wood or timber is one of the material used in engineering construction material . Timber is
used not only for houses , buildings and so on , but also used for making composite materials
such as plywood , particleboard , and paper . Timber is a naturally occurring composite
material that consists mainly of a complex array of cellulose cells reinforced by a polymeric
substance called lignin and other organic compounds .
Timber is a natural product with a complex structure . The strength of wood is highly
anisotropic , with its tensile strength being much greater in the direction parallel to the tree
stem .
Wet woods , or , softwoods , consists mainly of long , thin-walled tubular cells called
tracheids . Also , consists of lumen , a large open space in the center of the cells that is used
for water conduction . Dry woods , or hardwoods , have large-diameter vessels for the
conduction of fluids . The vessels are thin-walled structures consisting of individual elements
called vessel elements and are formed in the longitudinal direction of tree stem . Dry woods
can be classified into ring-porous and diffuse-porous .
In stress-strain graph and force-elongation graph , dry parallel and wet parallel show
similar gradient or pattern , whereas dry perpendicular and wet perpendicular show distinct
different gradient or pattern . The following paragraphs will explain the curve patterns of the
graph .
For all stress versus strain and force versus elongation on the graph of compression
perpendicular and parallel to grain for both dry and wet woods , the compressive strength of
wood parallel to the grain is higher than wood perpendicular to the grain . It is clearly in the
graphs that the amount of stress and load the woods parallel to the grains can withstand is
larger than woods perpendicular to the grains . The reason for this difference is that in the
longitudinal direction , the strength of the wood is due primarily to the strong covalent bonds
of the cellulose microfibrils that are oriented mainly longitudinal . The strength of the wood
perpendicular to the grain is lower because it depends on the strength of the weaker hydrogen
bonds that bond the cellulose molecules laterally .
Based on the graph of wet woods and dry woods , dry wood is stronger than wet woods.
This is because for dry woods case , the removal of water from the less-ordered regions of
the cellulose of the microfibril allows the cell molecular structure to compact and form
internal bridges by hydrogen bonding . Thus , upon losing moisture , the timber shrinks and
becomes denser and stronger . On ductility in the other hand , wet woods have more ductility
compared to dry woods . This is because since wet woods is less dense , deformation can be
occur.
The strength of a wood depends on its density , which in turns depend on both the moisture
content and the type of wood . The mechanical properties of grain of woods are highly
anisotropic . In the longitudinal direction , an applied tensile load acts parallel to the
microfibrils and cellulose chains in the middle section of the secondary wall . These chains
are strong because they are mostly crystalline and are able to carry a relatively high load .
 In the radial and tangential directions , the weaker bonds between microfibrils and
cellulose may break , resulting in very low tensile properties . Similar behaviour is observed
in compression . Because of the anisotropic behaviour , most lumber is cut in a tangential-
longitudinal or radial-longitudinal manner . These cuts maximize the longitudinal behaviour
of the wood .
Wood has poor properties in compression , which produces a combination of compressive
and tensile forces . In compression , the fibers in the cells tend to buckle , causing the wood
to deform and break at low stresses .
The density of woods also depends primarily on moisture content of the woods . In a dry
wood , roughly about 30% water is eliminated from the vessel , cell walls and cellulose
fibers . This loss permits the individual fibers to come close together , increasing the bonding
between the fibers and the density of the wood , hence , increasing the strength of woods .

CONCLUSION

In conclusion , based on the graph obtained , the compressive strength of wood parallel to
the grain is higher than wood perpendicular to the grain . The strength of the wood
perpendicular to the grain is lower because it depends on the strength of the weaker hydrogen
bonds that bond the cellulose molecules laterally . Also , dry wood is stronger than wet
woods because of the moisture content that affect the strength of the woods.