TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES

938 Aurora Boulevard, Cubao, Quezon City

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Civil Engineering Department

LAB EXERCISE NO.1

“Wood Compression Test”

CE41FA1
GROUP NO.6

MEMBERS: SIGNATURES:

Salipot, Albert
Samus, Zaeliane
Tercio, Ogie
Yanoc Nesty

SUBMITTED TO:
ENGR. GERMAN BARLIS
Instructor

October 26, 2019

 ABSTRACT

Wood is a ubiquitous material that has been used in construction from the earliest times. Wood is
a renewable, sustainable material with great aesthetic value. Today, there are probably more buildings
constructed with wood than any other structural material. Many of these buildings are singlefamily
residences, but many larger apartment buildings, as well as commercial and industrial buildings, also use
wood framing.

The widespread use of wood in construction has appeal from both an economic and aesthetic
basis. The ability to construct wood buildings with a minimal amount of equipment has kept the cost of
woodframe buildings competitive with other types of construction. On the other hand, where architectural
considerations are important, the beauty and warmth of exposed wood is difficult to match with other
materials.

The objectives of this experiment are to conduct tensile and compressive tests on three types of
wood to investigate their stress-strain behavior, and to conduct a four-point bending test on a wood beam
to ascertain its flexural performance. In a four-point bending test, a simply-supported beam is loaded with
two equal point loads at its third points, resulting in a central portion with constant moment and zero
shear. This is an important test because wood structural elements are often used in floor systems and are
thus primarily loaded by bending stresses
 PROCEDURE

1. Measure and record the actual

dimensions and mass of the specimens.

2. Place the sample at the center of the bottom

platen of the UTM with its grain in the vertical
direction or parallel to the compressive force.

3. Lower the top platen such that it is simply

touching the sample.

4. Attach the compressometer to the specimen.

This will measure the wood sample
deformation throughout the compression
process.

5. Apply the load (compressive force) slowly

while simultaneously reading the load and
axial deformation until the sample fails.
 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA AND RESULT

In the experiment, testing the compressive strength of wood, which is the measurement of the
largest compression force the material can withstand before it loses its shape or fails. Compression
parallel to the grain shortens the fibers in the wood lengthwise.

The students observed that during the testing, the wood has shortened. The material tends to
spread in the lateral direction and increases the cross sectional area. The first effect of compression
across the grain is to compact the fibers, the load is irregularly increasing as the density of the material is
increased. If the specimen lies on a flat surface and the load is applied to only a portion of the upper area,
the bearing plate indents the wood, crushing the upper fibers without affecting the lower part.
The gathered data on the table show that the compressive strength of the wood being tested along the
grain is greater than the compressive strength of the wood being tested across the grain. In the wood
being tested along the grain, the deformation is smaller than the deformation of the wood across the
grain; even it has greater loads applied on the wood.

A material is strong and tough if it ruptures under high forces and has high strains while materials
with limited strain values are not tough. The first effect of compression across the grain is to compact the
fibers, the load is irregularly increasing as the density of the material is increased. If the specimen lies on
a flat surface and the load is applied to only a portion of the upper area, the bearing plate indents the
wood, crushing the upper fibers without affecting the lower part.
 CONCLUSION

The students conclude that the strength of wood parallel to the grain subjected under
compressive load is greater than that of the strength of wood perpendicular to the grain subjected
under compressive load.
 TABULATION OF DATA AND RESULT

Table 1.1 Wood Compression Test Collected Data

GROUP Length b d
(mm) (mm) (mm)
1 118.7 46.7 51.9
2 128.8 45.4 52.1
3 116 47 47
4 120 53 47
5 107.25 35 38.6
6 119.92 50.52 43.50

Table 2.2 Wood Compression Test Collected Data

Sample Load Area Density Maximum Mass
ID (N) (𝒎𝒎𝟐 ) (𝒌𝒈/𝒎𝒎𝟑 ) Compressive (kg)
Stress (Mpa)
S1 71.36 2423.73 689.90 29.44 0.198
S2 79.58 2365.34 869.92 35.64 0.214
S3 102.63 2209 902.34 46.46 0.231
S4 105.96 2491 705.69 42.54 0.211
S5 177.88 1351 1903.45 131.67 0.276
S6 49.20 2298.66 645.99 19.75 0.177
 COMPUTATION

Group Data:

b = 50.52mm ≈ 0.05052m LOAD: 49.20kN

d = 45.50mm ≈ 0.04550m STRESS: 19.75 𝑁⁄𝑚𝑚2
L = 119.122mm ≈ 0.119m
Mass = 177g ≈ 0.177kg

AREA VOLUME

A = bd V=LxWxH
= (50.52mm)(45.50mm) = (0.05052m)(0.04550m
= 2298.66𝑚𝑚2 = 2.74× 10−4 𝑚3

DENSITY MAX. STRESS

𝑚 𝑃
𝜌= 𝜎=
𝑉 𝐴
1000𝑁
0.177 𝑘𝑔 40.20𝑘𝑁 (
1𝑘𝑁
)
= =
2.74×10−4 𝑚3 19.75 𝑁⁄𝑚𝑚2
= 645.985𝑘𝑔⁄𝑚3 = 2035.44 MPa
 GROUP PICTURE

From left to right: Albert Salipot, Nesty Yanoc, Samus Zaeliane

 PRELIMINARY DATA SHEET

Name: Date Performed:

Course/Year: Instructor:

Laboratory Exercise No.1

WOOD COMPRESSION TEST

PRELIMINARY DATA SHEET

Sample Properties for Compression Test (Parallel to Grain)

Sample Density Compressive Modulus of Maximum Compressive
ID (kg/m3) Elasticity (GPa) Stress (MPa)

S1 689.90 _ 29.44

S2 869.92 _ 35.64

S3 902.34 _ 46.46

S4 0.07059 _ 42.54

S5 1903.45 _ 131.67

S6 645.99 _ 19.75

Group No. 6
Group Leader: Yanoc, Nesty
Group Members: Signature:
1. Salipot, Albert ___________________
2. Samus, Zaeliane ___________________
3. Tercio, Ogie ___________________

Approved by:

___________________________
Engr. German Barlis
(Instructor)