1.

0 Design of tension member (Clauses 14 page 29 MS544: Part 2-2017)

Permissible stresses for timber tension members are governed by the particular conditions of
service and loading as given in Clauses 8, 10 and 11 and by the additional factors as describe in
Clause 14. They should be determined as the product of the grade stress and the appropriate
modification factors.

With tension members, since there is no tendency to buckle, the ratio of length to thickness (i.e.
the slenderness ration, λ) is not critical. In truss frameworks sometimes a member may undergo
compression for a short duration due to wind loading and hence it is recommended that the
slenderness ratio, λ, for truss members is limited to 250.

The design of tension members involves trial and error. The capacity of a tension member at its
weakest point, for example at connection points, should be determined. Generally, the cross-
sectional dimensions are found first by assuming a connector arrangement. After connectors are
designed, the strength of the member is again checked based on its net cross-sectional area at the
point of connection.

1.1 Design considerations

The main design considerations for tension members are:

(1) Tensile stress for members subjected to axial loading only.

(2) Combined bending and tensile stress for members subjected to lateral loading as well as the
axial tension.

In both cases, as before, the permissible stress value is calculated as the production of the grade
stress and the appropriate modification factors for a particular service and loading conditions, and
is compared with the applied stress in the member, where:

Permissible stress (= grade stress × K-factors) ≥ applied stress

1.1.1 Depth factor

The grade bending stress given in MS544 : Part 2 apply to beams having a depth,
h, up to 300 mm. For other depths of beams, the grade bending stress should be
multiplied by the depth modification factor, K6 where:

for h > 300 mm, K6 = 0.81(h2 + 92 300 )

h2 + 56 800

1.1.2 Width factor

The grade tension stresses given in Tables 1 and 2 apply to solid timber having a
width (i.e. the greater transverse dimension), h, of 300 mm. For other widths of
members, the grade tension stresses should be multiplied by the width
modification factor, K10:

where
K10 = 1.17 for solid timber members having a width of 72 mm or less; and
K10 = (300/h)0.11 for solid members having a width greater than 72 mm.

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 1.2 Members subjected to axial tension only

An axially loaded column has its line of action of load passing through the centroidal axis of the
column.

(1) the applied tensile stress, σt,a,//, in an axially loaded timber member is calculated from the
following equation:
T
σt,a,// = A
net

where: T = tensile force, Anet = net cross-sectional area.

(2) The permissible tensile stress, σt,adm,//, is calculate as the product of the grade tensile stress,
σt,g,//, and any relevant modification factors (K-factors) as follows:

σt,adm,// = σt,g,// × K

where K is general modification factors load-duration and load-sharing systems.

In general, the value of applied tensile stress, σt,a,//, should not exceed the permissible tensile
stress, σt,adm,//, hence:

σt,a,// ≤ σt,adm,//

1.3 Combined bending and tensile stresses

In members that are subjected to lateral loading as well as the axial tension, the position of
maximum stress occurs at the point of maximum bending moment (Fig. 2.0). Clause 14.3 of the
code requires that the sum of the ratios of the applied tensile and banding stress to those of the
permissible ones (i.e. interaction quantity) must not exceed unity:

σm,a,// σt,a,//
σg,adm,// + σt,adm,//
≤1

where:
Applied tensile stress, T
σt,a,// =
Anet
Permissible tensile stress, σt,adm,// = σt,g,// × K
Applied bending stress, M·y M
σm,a,// = I = Z
Permissible bending stress, σm,adm,// = σm,g,// × K

w/m

T T

wL/2 Position of maximum bending moment wL/2

L
Fig. 2.0 Tension member subjected to lateral loading.

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