7.

TIMBER
One of the first materials used by man in the construction of shelter was wood. And the
properties of wood that are particular interest are:

ƒ Wood is fibrous material in which the fibers run longitudinally through the wood
section. This produces a material that has good strength characteristics when
loaded in flexure.

ƒ Wood is viscoelastic. Under relatively low stress, it behaves elastically; that is

stresses are proportional to strains, but as the stresses increase, the strains become
disproportionate and there is no evidence of a definite elastic limit. Under higher
stresses, wood will creep over time, and water content and high temperature will
affect its strength characteristics.

ƒ Wood is anisotropic. Its properties are considerably different along the direction
of the grain from that perpendicular to the grain.

ƒ Wood is hygroscopic. It will absorb moisture and will maintain a moisture content
equal to that of the surrounding air. As a result, it will shrink and swell depending
on the amount of moisture available.

7.1 Growth of Wood

As trees grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the air and minerals from the soil, and by
the process of photosynthesis, convert them into basic carbohydrate compounds to
produce new wood cells. As the new cells are formed, the old cells cease to function and
are preserved, forming that part of the tree known as wood. This phenomenon of self-
preservation enables the tree to reach a size that allows it to be cut into sections and
lengths of commercial value.

The tree stem is composed of two major components – the central core and the outer
protective shell, or bark. The central core consists of pith, xylem (heart wood + sap
wood) and phloem or inner bark.

On examining the cross-section of the trunk of an exogenous tree (see the figure shown
below), we perceive several parts that are briefly described below.

Pith: - It is the first formed, small in diameter (1-3 mm), innermost portion of the stem of
a tree. It consists entirely of soft cellular tissues. At young age of the tree it contains fluid
and nourishes the plant. It gradually becomes inactive as the tree grows old but remains
part of its firm and strong support.

Heartwood: - As the tree continues to add annual growth rings, its inner portion becomes
progressively less active. The portion that no longer carries sap is called the heartwood.
Heartwood is usually darker than the outer portion, sapwood.

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Sapwood: - The layer under the cambium that carries the sap and store food.

Cambium: - Just inside the inner bark, it is a thin layer of cells capable of division,
forming new cells towards the wood (xylem) and phloem cells towards the bark.

Inner bark (Phloem): - carries food from leaves down stem to feed cambium and
manufacture wood.

Outer bark: - It is the outermost portion of a tree. The outer bark protects the tree from
heat and mechanical harm. The inner bark protects the cambium from any injury and also
supplies food to these parts where it is needed most.

Annual rings (growth rings): - So-called because they are arranged in concentric circles
around the pith, each ring being added yearly. Each ring has two parts:

1) The early wood or springwood made of large diameter cells, light in color and
porous, hence of low density and strength,

2) The late wood or summerwood that grows more slowly than early wood. This part
of the ring is made of thick-walled, narrower cells that often make it darker and
denser, hence stronger than early wood.

Rays (modularly rays): - These are thin, parallel radial bands, generally light colored
which cross the tree trunk from the pith to the cambium layer. They hold together the
annual rings and also store and conduct food horizontally.

As the tree grows old, the innermost rings surrounding the pith become lifeless and
constitute the portion of the trunk that is called the heartwood, although lifeless. The
heartwood is a firm and strong support of the tree. It is generally darker in color, stronger,
more compact and durable. The sapwood on the other hand is made of the outer annual
rings and transmits the sap from the roots to the branches of the tree.

7.2 Classification

Trees growing in Ethiopia can be broadly classified into two main groups: -

ƒ Endogenous or inward growing trees such as palms, and bamboos that have so far
little engineering use;

ƒ Exogenous or outward growing trees which make the bulk of the commercially
available material for building purpose.

Wood suitable for building and other engineering use is called timber. All exogenous
trees grow in diameter as well as in height through the addition of yearly layers of wood,
each of which forms immediately under the skin or bark. Timber available from
exogenous trees is divided into two main classes:

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 Cross section of a log

i) Hardwoods ii) Soft wood.

These terms are misleading in that there is no direct relationship between these
designations and the hardness and softness of wood. The designations actually refer to
certain growth and foliage characteristics. Softwoods are obtained from coniferous tree
that have long and narrow pointed leaves, whereas hard woods are from broad-leaved
trees. Despite this general classification, however, some broad-leaved trees are found to
be softer than certain soft wood and vice-versa.

In general, however, soft woods are characterized by their straight and regularly arranged
fibers, more uniform texture and light color. They are relatively light with densities
varying from 350 to 700 kg/m3 at 15% moisture content. Hard woods consists of a greater
variety of fibers, they are generally dark in color and dense with densities varying from
400 to 1250 kg/m3 at 15% moisture content and have narrow annual rings. Soft woods are
strong in tension but rather weak in shear, whereas hardwoods are capable of resisting all
stress equally well. Because of the minerals they contain, such as silica, hard woods are at
times difficult to saw.

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7.3 Defects in Timber

These defects could arise from irregularities in the growth of grains, or take the form of
knots, shakes, and splits. Knots are the beginnings of branches that have been surrounded
by the stem of the tree. Shakes or splits are longitudinal cracks running along the trunk.

Timber with shakes or splits and too many knots should not be used for structural
purposes. Knots also make surface finishing and polishing of timber difficult.

7.4 Seasoning of Wood

A newly felled or green tree contains a high percentage of water by weight. Most of the
water is found in the sap that contains a larger amount of active and thick walled cells.

Once a tree is felled, an irregular loss of water takes place leading to irregular radial and
circumferential shrinkage that result in the setting up of internal stresses between the
fibers. When these stresses exceed the cohesion of the fibers than the timber, warps and
shakes are formed. It is said that the radial shrinkage of wood is about 60% of the
circumferential (or tangential) and that the longitudinal shrinkage is negligible. The
reason the radial shrinkage is much less than the tangential is explained by the fact that
early wood and late wood alternate in the radial direction, thereby one checking" on the
shrinkage of the other.

In order to avoid extensive cracking and splitting due to uneven drying and shrinkage,
logs should be converted soon after felling. Logs concreted to lumber give pieces of
smaller sections and high surface area that facilitate controlled and uniform drying.
Drying also minimizes shrinkage after placement in structures, reduces weight by 50
percent 01- more, improves strength increases thermal insulation and resistance to decay,
etc.

Two methods of drying are generally used which are:

1) Air drying or seasoning

2) Kiln drying or artificial seasoning.

In the air-drying process, timber is stacked in the shade (under a roof) for several weeks
or months in such a way that there is a free circulation of fresh air all around each piece.
Drying of timber by seasoning is considered to be the least expensive as it does not
require high initial investment nor running expenses but at the same time gives strong and
durable timber.

Kiln drying is done in chambers equipped with heating and humidifying arrangements. In
this process, hot air with predetermined temperature (50-80°c) and humidity level is
forced into the chamber for free circulation through the timber stacked inside the
chamber for some time. Once drying is completed, the timber is then allowed to cool
inside the kiln to within 15 to 20°c of the outside temperature before removal. Since it is

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made scientifically by controlling the amount, temperature and humidity of the
circulating air, kiln drying gives better seasoned timber in relatively very short time.
However, the method is more expensive as it involves larger initial investment and
running cost.

Properly seasoned or dried timber reaches what is called its equilibrium moisture content
which is about 12 to 18% of the dry weight depending on the species and surrounding
condition. It is important to know that, because of its hygroscopicity, dried timber takes
in or gives off moisture vapor until it reaches equilibrium with the surrounding
atmosphere. Hence even if it is dried past its equilibrium moisture content it will readily
reabsorb some moisture. Obviously if it is brought in contact with water or damp
material, it will reabsorb much more.

7.5 Strength Properties of Timber

Considering the fact that it is relatively strong in compression and tension (bending) and
that it has low density, timber can be classified as one of the materials of high strength:
weight ratio. Among the factors that seriously affect strength, moisture content takes a
prominent place. For instance, compressive strength sharply decreases with increasing
moisture content until saturation of fibers (about 30% moisture content) is reached after
which it remains almost the same.

Strength of timber varies according to the type of loading and also according to the
direction of loading. Tensile strength along the grains may be two to four times the
compressive strength and as much as thirty times that across the grains. Also compressive
strength along the grains may be several times that across. Between the two strengths,
tensile strength is said to be much more sensitive to grain angle than is compressive
strength.

Perhaps the single most important factor that affects the strength of timber is the time of
loading. Test results of timber reveal that it can sustain greater loads for short time than it
can over a long period. Generally, to be on the safe side, relatively high safety factor (3
and above) is taken in the design of timber structural elements.

7.6 Conversion of Timber

Beside its usage as structural member in buildings, timber can be used to prepare
architectural or finishing materials such as veneers, plywood etc.

Veneers are thin sheets of wood, from 0.5 mm to 5 mm that are peeled off, sliced, cut or
sawn from a log of wood. Since they have usually attractive appearance they are used as
finishing materials or cover to timber surfaces of inferior quality.

Veneers are also used for making plywood. In the plywood the different plies are
arranged in such a way that the grains of the veneers are the right angles to each other

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(see the figure shown below). This arrangement gives the plywood considerable strength
in compression, tension as well as bending.

Wood wastes obtained from saw mills, inferior timber or small logs are usually used to
manufacture chipboard (hardboard) .In this case, the dried material is converted into
fibers. The fibers are then mixed with binders (synthetic resins) and pressed into 10 to 25
mm thick boards in hydraulic presses. Such boards are used as ceiling boards, partition
walls, etc.

Plywood cores

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Eyob Yilma, Construction Technology Department, NCTTE
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Eyob Yilma, Construction Technology Department, NCTTE