Junaid Ahmad Malik

2007-MS-Str-14
 Outline
 Introduction
 Engineering Properties of Wood
 Wood as Structural Material
 Design Considerations
 Flexural Design
 Design of Axial Members
 Horizontal Diaphragm
 Connections
 Conclusion
 References
 Introduction
 Wood has been an important construction material
since humans began building structure for its use.
 Domestic housing in many parts of the world today is
commonly made from timber-framed construction.
 In buildings made of other materials, wood is still
found as a supporting material, in interior doors and
their frames, and as exterior cladding.
 Wood to be used for construction work is commonly
known as lumber in North America. Elsewhere,
lumber usually refers to felled trees, and the word
for sawn planks ready for use is timber.
 Wood is also commonly used as shuttering material
to form the mould into which concrete is poured
during reinforced concrete construction.
 Engineering Properties of Wood
Wood is an orthotropic material; that is, it has
unique and independent mechanical properties in
the directions of three mutually perpendicular
axes i.e longitudinal, radial, and tangential.
 Engineering Properties of Wood
 Density
 Exceptionally Light — Under 300 kg/m³
 Light — 300 to 450 kg/m³
 Medium — 450 to 650 kg/m³
 Heavy — 650 to 800 kg/m³
 Very Heavy — 800 to 1000+ kg/m³
 Strength
Strength of wood generally depends on following properties.
 Density
 Moisture Content
 Knots
 Checks
 Shakes
 Splits
 Slope of Grain
 Reaction wood
 Engineering Properties of Wood
 Wood in bending is amazingly strong for its weight;
however, in many applications beam size is limited
more by deflection criteria than by strength.
 Young’s modulus (E) values for native species will
range from about 3450 MPa to about 17,250 MPa.
 Wood in tension parallel to the grain is exceedingly
strong; however, it is readily affected by wood
defects, particularly by knots and slope of grain.
Also, tension perpendicular to the grain properties
are very weak, and fracture in this mode is abrupt.
 Wood strength in compression necessarily must
consider grain angle since compressive strength
varies inversely with grain angle from 0° (parallel to
the grain) to 90° (perpendicular to the grain).
 Engineering Properties of Wood
 Specific Gravity
 Specific Gravity ranges from roughly 0.30 to 0.90
Modulus of Elasticity(E)
 Modulus of Elasticity ranges from about 3450 MPa
to about 17,250 Mpa.
 Durability
Long-term performance and durability recognizes
that several instruments can destroy wood. The
major ones are
 Decay
 Decay is caused by fungi which feed on the cellulose or
lignin of the wood.
 Termites
 Marine Borers
 Fire
 Design Considerations
The 1997 National Design Specification for Wood
Construction is the basic specification in the United
States for the design of wood structures.
The NDS Supplement provides tabulated design
values for the following mechanical properties:
 Bending Stress Fb
 Tension Stress Parallel to Grain F t
 Shear Stress Fv
 Compression Stress Parallel to Grain F c
 Compression Stress Perpendicular to Grain F c
 Modulus of Elasticity E
 Design Considerations
Strength Variability
As a biological material, wood is variable in all its
properties.
 Variability is measured by coefficient of variation
values,
 A property variability effect is also imposed by the
presence of minor defects within the wood (small
grain deviations near knots; rapid growth in some
annual rings of conifers, which tend to lower
density; very slow growth in any species; or wood in
close proximity to the pith, which is inherently low
in density and has a propensity to shrink
excessively). Generally this is taken into account
mathematically in the design stress determination
and grading processes.
 Beam Design
For beams the bending stress is the critical design
item. Therefore, a trial beam size is often developed
from the bending stress formula
S = M/Fb
A trial member is chosen which provides a furnished
section modulus S that is greater than the required
value. Because the magnitude of the size
Fb=M/S ≤ F’b
After a trial size has been established, the remaining
items (shear and deflection) should be checked. For a
rectangular beam, the shear is checked by the
expression
fv = (1.5V /A) ≤ F ’v
 Beam Design
In this calculation a reduced shear can be
substituted for V, and fv becomes the
computed shear in place of Fv. If this check
proves unsatisfactory, the size of the trial
beam is revised to provide a sufficient area A
so that the shear is adequate.
The deflection is checked by calculating the
actual deflection using the moment of inertia
for the trial beam. The actual deflection is
then compared with the allowable deflection:
 Design for Tensile Forces
The check for the axial tension stress in a member
of known size uses the formula
Ft =P/ An ≤ F’t
 Where Ft = Actual tension stress parallel to grain
 P = Axial tension force in member
 An = Net cross-sectional area = Ag-∑ Ah
 Ag = Gross cross-sectional area
 ∑Ah = sum of projected area of holes at critical
section
 Ft = Allowable tension stress parallel to grain
(defined below)
 Design for Compressive Forces
Following Formulae is used to design the
members under compression.

fc = P/A ≤ F’c

 where fc = Actual compressive stress parallel

to grain
 P = Axial compressive force in member
 A = Cross-sectional area
 F’c = Allowable compressive stress parallel to
grain as defined later in the section
 Horizontal Diaphragm
The basic design considerations for a
horizontal diaphragm are
 Sheathing thickness
 Diaphragm nailing
 Chord design
 Collector (strut) design
 Diaphragm deflection
 Tie and anchorage requirements
Connections
 Conclusions
Wood is naturally available material and
can be used as a structural material.
Wood is an orthotropic material therefore
care is needed when using wood members
for different functions.
Wooden piles is a cheap solution when
structure is lightly loaded and ground soil
is weak.
Wooden structural members are more
susceptible to fire so special treatment is
required for fire proofing.
In high earthquake zones wooden
 References
Uniform Building Code,1997
National Design Specification for Wood
Construction, 1997
Design of Wood Structures, 4th ed., D. E.
Breyer et al
[Link]
[Link]
THANK YOU