University of Rizal System Morong, Rizal COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Arianne G. Cequea M. PANGANIBAN BSCE V

CE16: Timber Design Assignment # 1 June 18, 2012

Engr. JASMIN

TIMBER OR LUMBER
TIMBER is one of the oldest known structural materials. In addition to its usefulness as a material for structural and applied design, because of its relative cheapness, timber has also fulfilled a role in a capacity of temporary structure, allowing materials such as concrete to be erected in structural forms which would otherwise have been vulnerable in the stage before it gained strength.

At the very center is the pith. In some trees, this is much softer and possibly a different color than the surrounding heartwood. Heartwood is made up of dead cells that no longer serve any purpose except to support the tree. Next is the sapwood, which carries water, minerals, and plant sugars between the roots and the leaves. This is often lighter in color than the heartwood. Outside the sapwood, close to the surface, is the cambium, a thin layer of living cells. These cells manufacture the wood as they grow. The cambium is covered by a protective layer of bark. The cambium grows rapidly at the beginning of each growing season, creating light colored springwood. As the climate warms, it slows

down and produces darker summerwood. This later growth is somewhat denser and harder than the early springwood. As the weather turns cold, the cambium becomes dormant until the next spring. This cycle produces distinctive growth rings. The figure of the cross-section of the trunk provides perhaps the easiest picture of those relevant components of the tree with which users need to be concern: 1. Outerbark the outermost periphery which is rough in texture and dense enough on consistence to provide protective layer covering the vital food layers immediately inside it. 2. Innerbark soft, moist and spongy and transports the converted sap from the leaves to the growing parts of the tree. 3. Cambium is a thin layer of cells next to the inner bark. It is here that growth takes by the splitting of single cell into two cell. 4. Annual ring is made of tubular cells inside the cambium called xylem which provides the means of conducting and storing food and also provides mechanical supports. The annual rings consist of two layers: a. Summerwood darker b. Springwood lighter 5. Medullary rays run perpendicular to the main cells from the outer layers inward. This carries food materials by transporting the excess towards the center of the tree. 6. Heartwood the wood from the inner rings which is composed of dead tissues, its cells being completely filled. 7. Sapwood the living layer which serves as ducts for the passage of sap.

How does wood grow?

Trees grow in two ways. In a young shoot, bundles of cells form. These are a primary kind of wood known as provascular tissue. As the shoot grows, a layer of cambium forms across and between the primary bundles where each year, cells in this layer divide and grow. As the cambium divides, wood and bark cells form. Cells pushed outward form the bark which eventually splits and falls off and is replaced. A tree's upward growth occurs at the tip of each twig. (See diagram below). The inward growth of the cambium forms the main part of the trunk and is called xylem. Tiny tubes which transport water and minerals from the roots up the trunk and branches to the leaves make up the xylem. Leaves need this water to help them make food from sunlight. The outward growth is protected by a layer of phloem. The phloem is made up of tiny tubes that transport the sugars from the leaves to the rest of the tree. If the phloem is damaged the tree will die. Roots may not go down deep but they can spread outward as far as the tree is tall. Roots anchor trees to the soil and absorb water and soil minerals needed for growth. Some trees have deep tap roots; others have a spreading system of roots. Roots as they push through the soil are aided by a cap that forms over the tender growing point of each root. Beyond this point, myriads of root hairs extend into the soil, increasing

increasing the surface area of the root and increasing the amount of water the tree can take up.

In some trees a difference in color exists between the outer part of the wood, the sapwood or alburnum, and the inner part, the heartwood or duramen. The sapwood is the light part of the wood as seen in cross section. It is the most recently formed wood, the circle farthest from the central cylinder. Sapwood is the physiologically active part of the wood through which the sap rises and has a high level of humidity. Thus, it is susceptible to rot and vulnerable to attack by fungi and insects. The heartwood is the part of the trunk nearest the center, the older part, which makes up the greater part of the trunk. It is simply a form of the sapwood modified by aging, and differs from it in its greater compactness and darker, more intense color. Humidity is lower in heartwood and its cells walls are thickened by deposits of tannins, resins, starchy substances, coloring matter and oils. This part of the plant is already dead, performing only the functions of support and storage.

Tree Growth

CLASSIFICATION OF TREES
Trees are classified into: 1. Softwoods (or angiosperms) 2. Hardwood (or gymnosperms) It should be noted that the terms hardwood and softwood in relation to species of trees do not necessary indicate the relative hardness or density. Softwood is a generic term used in woodworking and the lumber industries for wood from conifers. The term softwood designates wood from gymnosperm trees (plants having seeds with no covering). Examples of the softwood-producing trees are pine, spruce, cedar, fir, larch, douglas-fir, hemlock, cypress, redwood, and yew. Softwood is also known as Clarkwood, Madmanwood, or fuchwood. The term hardwood designates wood from broad-leaved (mostly deciduous) or angiosperm trees (plants that produce seeds with some sort of covering). Hardwoods are

employed in a large range of applications, for example (but not limited to), construction, furniture, flooring, and utensils. A recently classified hardwood is Palmwood, which comes from the monocotyledon group of plants, promoted as an alternative to the shrinking stocks of "conventional" hardwoods.

Comparison chart HARDWOOD

Growth: Found in regions: Hardwood has a slower growth rate.

SOFTWOOD
Softwood has a faster rate of growth.

Trees supplying hardwood are found throughout the Found in the northern world from the Boreal and Taiga forests of the North hemisphere. to the tropics and down into the far South. Examples of softwood trees are Examples of hardwood are mahogany, teak, walnut, pine, spruce, cedar, fir, larch, oak, ash, elm, aspen, poplar, birch, maple etc. douglas-fir etc. Hardwood has a higher density and is therefore harder Hardwood is typically more expensive than softwood. Softwood has a lower density, therefore most softwood varieties are softer than hardwood. Softwood is typically less expensive compared to hardwood.

Examples:

Density:

Cost:

Uses:

Widely used as wood ware for Used for trimmings and furniture but less frequently building (homes/cabins) and than softwood. furniture. Comes from deciduous trees that drop their leaves every year. Hardwoods shed their leaves over a period of time Trees that are conifer and have needles, and normally do not lose needles. Softwoods tend to keep their leaves throughout the year.

Definition: Shedding of leaves: Type:

Mostly deciduous. Some European evergreen trees that yield hardwood are holly, boxwood and holm Evergreen. oak. Broad leaves; enclosed nuts; higher density: not all Less dense; less durable; high hardwood is hard e.g. poplar and basswood. calorific values;coniferous trees.

Properties:

CHARACTERISTICS OF TIMBER
Timber has three main characteristics: 1. Strength 2. Durability 3. Finished appearance

FACTORS AFFECTING WOOD STRENGTH

1. Density is certainly an indication of strength. The more dense the timber, the

stronger it is. Although all timbers are made up all the same chemical constituents, but dense timber has thicker wall which contribute to the strength of the timber. In softwoods in particular, this occurs with high proportion of summerwood in the growth rings. This has major strengths significance and for various species, they are optimum growth rates relative to strength and it has been shown which has not matched or has exceeded this optima is likely to be weaker. 2. Moisture Content the strength of timber decreases with a rise of moisture content. There is optimum moisture content for species and even with species, for particular use and an excessively dried out timber may have lower strength. A side aspect of moisture content is the support which high moisture content might give to the germination and flourishing of fungal growth to the attraction of insects. In each of these cases, there will be an indirect reduction in strength. 3. Grain Structure its significance in strength context and any disruption due to growth defects will induce a reduction in strength from that of clear specimens of the same timber. Slope of grain in any given timber member will affect the strength properties about the most significant axis.

WOOD DEFECTS
Defects occurring in timber are grouped into the following five divisions:

CONVERSION
During the process of converting timber to commercial form the following defects may occur: 1. Chip mark: this defect is indicated by the marks or signs placed by chips on the finished surface of timber 2. Diagonal grain: improper sawing of timber 3. Torn grain: when a small depression is made on the finished surface due to falling of some tool 4. Wane: presence of original rounded surface in the finished product

DEFECTS DUE TO FUNGI

Fungi attack timber when these conditions are all present: 1. The timber moisture content is above 25% on a dry-weight basis 2. The environment is warm enough 3. Air is present

Wood with less than 25% moisture (dry weight basis) can remain free of decay for centuries. Similarly, wood submerged in water may not be attacked by fungi if the amount of oxygen is inadequate.

FUNGI TIMBER DEFECTS:

1. Blue stain 2. Brown rot 3. Dry rot 4. Heart rot 5. Sap stain 6. Wet rot 7. White rot Insects Following are the insects which are usually responsible for the decay of timber: 1. Beetles 2. Marine borers (Barnea similis) 3. Termites 4. Carpenter ants

NATURAL FORCES
There are two main natural forces responsible for causing defects in timber: a. abnormal growth and b. rupture of tissues.

SEASONING
Defects due to seasoning are the number one cause for splinters and slivers.