CE 479: DESIGN OF BUILDING COMPONENTS AND SYSTEMS

FALL 2012 J. LIU

Wood: Intro, Properties, Grades

OUTLINE
Introduction to Wood Properties Design Specifications Sizes, Grading

Introduction to Wood
Wood Members Species and Species Groups

Wood Members

Sawn lumber or solid sawn lumber

Wood

members manufactured by cutting a member directly from a log

Glued laminated timbers

a.k.a.

glulams Laminated stock, glued and laid up to form larger wood members

Wood Members

Wood poles/timber piles Manufactured products

Plywood

Oriented

strand board (OSB) Structural composite lumber (laminated veneer or parallel strand lumber)

Fabricated components
Trusses Wood

I-joists Box beams

Sawn lumber Basic size classifications

Dimension lumber
Smaller

(thinner) sizes of structural lumber Ranges from 2x2 through 4x16 Any material with nominal thickness of 2 to 4 inches

Timbers
Larger

sizes 5 inch minimum nominal dimension Practically speaking, smallest timber size is a 6x6

Species and Species Groups

Structural designer uses lumber from a commercial species group rather than a specific species Same grading rules, reference design values, grade stamps are applied to all species in a species group

Species and Species Groups

Note: some groups have similar names; each is separate and distinct different sets of reference design values
Douglas

Fir-Larch and Douglas Fir-Larch (N) Hem-Fir and Hem-Fir (N) Spruce-Pine-Fir and Spruce-Pine-Fir (S) (N) indicates a Canadian species group; (S) indicates USA species

Species and Species Groups

Hardwoods and Softwoods

Hardwoods - broadleafed deciduous trees Softwoods narrow, needle-like leaves, generally evergreen, also known as conifers C is for Conifers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FijQbZeTGNc

Large majority comes from Softwoods Note: Douglas Fir-Larch and Southern Pine are classified as softwoods, but are relatively dense and have structural properties exceeding those of many hardwoods

Typical Commercial Hardwoods

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Maples Oaks Birches Elms Walnut

Typical Commercial Softwoods

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Spruces Pines Firs Cedars Hemlocks Larches

Properties
Cellular Makeup Growth Characteristics (+ Guest Lecture R. Kristie) Moisture Content Shrinkage Specific Gravity Strength Other Properties, Decay (+ Guest Lecture R. Kristie)

Interior of a Tree

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Age Conditions of growth Structures Some properties

Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Cellular Makeup

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Growth Characteristics

Include density, moisture content, knots, checks, shakes, splits, slope of grain, reaction wood, decay Affect strength of lumber Limits on size and number of defects permitted in a given stress grade

Knots

Portion of a branch or limb that has been incorporated into the main body of the tree Displace clear wood, cause slope of grain to deviate around them, therefore decreasing mechanical properties Can cause stress concentrations and/or checking Effect on tension and compression; greater effect on tension

Checks, Shakes, Splits

Separations of wood fibers (A) Checks = radial cracks (C) Shakes = separation parallel to annual rings (B) Splits = complete separation of wood fibers

Slope of Grain

Deviation of wood fibers from a line that is parallel to edge of piece of lumber Expressed as a ratio (e.g., 1:8, 1:15, etc.) Measured over sufficient area to be representative of general slope of fibers; local deviations around knots disregarded

Reaction Wood

Known as compression wood in softwood species Abnormal wood that forms on underside of leaning and crooked trees Hard and brittle Unbalanced structure in wood Not permitted in stress grades of lumber

Moisture Content

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Moisture Content

Moisture content in living trees comes from sap (water and dissolved mineral salts) Can be as high as 200% in sapwood of some tress May be 30% in heartwood of others Held in wood in two ways:
Free

water in the cell cavity

to be driven off as wood dries

First

Bound

water in the cell walls

Moisture Content

Moisture content of lumber in service is much less than that of a living tree (can be 200 percent)
Equilibrium moisture content (EMC)
Average

moisture content in service Ranges between 7 14% MC at time of construction will be higher than EMC of a building (perhaps 2 times higher)

Moisture Content

Fiber Saturation Point (FSP)

Moisture

content that corresponds to complete loss of free water 100% of bound water remaining No loss of bound water occurs above FSP No volume changes or other changes in structural properties associated with change in MC above FSP

Moisture Content

Fiber Saturation Point (FSP)

Above FSP

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Below FSP

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Shrinkage

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Moisture Content

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Shrinkage

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Shrinkage

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Shrinkage

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Shrinkage

Shrinkage causes reduction in section properties, but reduction in MC increases structural properties Drying of lumber in order to increase structural properties is known as Seasoning Seasoning usually refers to a controlled drying process such as air or kiln drying

Shrinkage

Seasoning Checks

Shrinkage

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Moisture Content

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Kiln Drying

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Rate of Drying

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Equilibrium Moisture Content

Estimating Shrinkage

Wood Handbook (Forest Products Laboratory) provides values of tangential, radial, and volumetric shrinkage from clearwood samples, for different species

Values given from 0 at nominal FSP to full shrinkage at zero MC; intermediate values are interpolated

Other methods exist, but a simpler method recommended for following reasons:
Shrinkage is a variable property Orientation of annual rings in a real piece of lumber unknown Designer will probably only know species group, not individual species

Estimating Shrinkage

Simple method (Rummelhart and Fantozzi, 1992)

Constant

shrinkage of 6 percent used for both width and thickness of a member Shrinkage taken as 0 at an FSP of 30 percent, and the full 6 percent shrinkage assumed to occur at an MC of zero. Linear interpolation used for MC values between 30 and 0.

Method based on western species lumber, but method shown to give reasonable estimates for most species

Estimating Shrinkage - Example

Estimate the shrinkage that will occur in a fourstory wood-frame wall that uses Hem-Fir lumber. Consider a decrease in moisture from 15 to 8 percent.

Estimating Shrinkage Example, contd.

A shrinkage of 6 percent is assumed to occur between MC=30% and MC=0%. Use linear interpolation. Shrinkage value SV = 6/30 = 0.2% per 1 % change in MC = 0.002 in/in per 1% change in MC Shrinkage S that occurs in the dimension, d, of a piece: Shrinkage S = SV x d x
MC

= 0.002 x d x

MC

Estimating Shrinkage Example, contd.

Shrinkage in depth of 2x12 floor joist: Sfloor = 0.002 in/in x 11.25 in x (15-8) = 0.158 in

Shrinkage in thickness of one 2x wall plate:

Splate= 0.002 in/in x 1.5 in x (15-8) = 0.021 in Shrinkage in length of a stud; longitudinal shrinkage is small: S 0 in
stud

Estimating Shrinkage Example, contd.

Total S = 3 Sfloor + 12 Splate Total S = 3 (0.158 in) + 12 (0.021 in) Total S = 0.725 in in

Moisture Content and Lumber Sizes

Moisture content of lumber affects cross-sectional dimensions No need to adjust section properties to account for initial MC and EMC and resulting shrinkage Grading practices for dimension lumber have established the dry size (MC19 percent) of a member as basis for structural calculations Manufacturing adjusted to MC of wood at time of manufacturer (i.e., lumber from green wood is larger at time of manufacture)

Specific Gravity

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Specific Gravity and Strength

Strength

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Compressive Strength

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Compressive Strength

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Strength

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Tensile Strength

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Tensile Strength

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Radial Stress in Curved Members

Bending

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Longitudinal Shear

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Fatigue Loading

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Temperature

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Preservative Processes, Fire-retardant Chemicals

Thermal Expansion

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Insulation, Acoustics

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Pressure-Treating

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Pressure-Treating

Chemical does not saturate the complete cross section; minimize field cutting and drilling of holes Many species (e.g. southern pines) readily accept treatment Others require incising (small cuts or incisions on all four sides)
Modification of modulus of elasticity and bending, tension and compression parallel to grain must be made No modification required for pressure-treated lumber without incising

Design Specifications
NDS for Wood Construction

NDS for Wood Construction

2012 National Design Specification (NDS) for Wood Construction

All

or part of NDS usually incorporated into the International Building Code (IBC) Integration of new Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) and traditional Allowable Stress Design (ASD) provisions NDS Supplement
Contains

numerical values of design stresses

Sizes, Grading
Size Categories Commercial Grades Grading Structural Lumber Grade Marks Machine Grading Basic Design Values

Sizes of Structural Lumber

Dressed lumber
Surfaced

to standard net size Net size is less than nominal size Most structural lumber is dressed Dressed on a planing machine for smooth surfaces and uniform sizes Typically surfaced four sides (S4S) Other finishes include S2S1E surfaced 2 sides 1 edge

Sizes of Structural Lumber

Rough Sawn
Large

timbers are commonly rough sawn Dimensions close to standard net sizes Textured surface Approximately 1/8 in larger than standard net sizes

Full Sawn
Less

common Actual size of lumber same as the specified size

Sizes of Structural Lumber

Consider nominal 8 x 12 member (8 in x 12 in)

Nominal Size Actual Size

Standard Dressed Size

DRESSED
7 x 11 in

ROUGH SAWN
7-5/8 x 11-5/8 in

FULL SAWN
8 x 12 in

Dressed Lumber

NDS 2012 Supplement Chapter 3 Section Properties

Size Categories Nominal Size Ranges

Boards

to 1-1/2 in thick 2 in and wider

Dimension Lumber
2

to 4 in thick 2 in and wider

Timbers
5

in and thicker 5 in and wider

Size Categories Subdivisions

Boards
Stress-Rated

Board (SRB)

Dimension Lumber
Structural

Light Framing (SLF) Light Framing Studs Structural Joists and Planks (SJ&P) Decking

Timbers
Beams

and Stringers (B&S) Posts and Timbers (P&T)

Size Categories
Name Light Framing (LF) and Structural Light Framing (SLF) Structural Joist and Plank (SJ&P) Stud Nominal Thickness 2 to 4 in Nominal Width 2 to 4 in Examples of Sizes 2 x 2, 2 x 4, 4x4

2 to 4 in 2 to 4 in

5 in and wider 2 in and wider

2 x 6, 2 x 14, 4 x 10 2 x 4, 2 x 6, 4 x 6 (lengths 10 ft and shorter)

Decking*

2 to 4 in

4 in and wider

2 x 4, 2 x 8

*stressed about its minor axis

Size Categories
Name Beams and Stringers (B&S) Posts and Timbers (P&T) Nominal Thickness 5 in and thicker Nominal Width More than 2 in greater than thickness Not more than 2 in greater than thickness Examples of Sizes 6 x 10, 6 x 14, 12 x 16 6 x 6, 6 x 8, 12 x 14

5 in and thicker

NDS 2012 Section 4.1.3

Commercial Grades

Vary within various size and use categories Different design values apply to same grade name in different size categories For example, Select Structural is available in SLF, SJ&P, B&S, and P&T Lumber grading rules reflect anticipated use of wood member based on size, but no restriction on actual use
Reference

design values given for tension, compression and bending for ALL size categories

Commercial Grades Examples

Structural Light Framing (SLF)

Select Structural, No. 1 and Better, No. 1, No. 2, No. 3

Light Framing (LF)

Construction, Standard, Utility

Stud Select Decking, Commercial Decking

Stud

Decking

Beams & Stringers

Dense Select Structural, Select Structural, Dense No. 1, No. 1, Dense No. 2, No. 2

Grading Structural Lumber

Majority of sawn lumber is visually graded

Grading Structural Lumber

Grade stamp includes:

Grade Species

or species group Other pertinent information

Stress grade
If

lumber grade has recognized mechanical properties for use in structural design, referred to as a stress grade

Grading Structural Lumber

More than one set of grading rules can be used to grade some commercial species groups
For

example, Douglas Fir-Larch can be graded under Western Wood Products Association (WWPA) rules or under West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau (WCLIB) rules Tables in NDS supplement clearly identify grading rules (e.g. WWPA and/or WCLIB)

Grade Marks
Mill number

Lumber Grading Agency (e.g. Western Wood Products Association (WWPA))

Grade Marks
Lumber Grade

Moisture content at time of surfacing, or condition of seasoning

Grade Marks

S-DRY = Surface Dry S-GRN = Surface Green KD = Kiln Dried MC = Moisture Content

Grade Marks, Moisture Content

S-GRN (MC greater than 19 percent at time manufacture)

Assumed

to have 19 percent initial moisture content

S-DRY or KD (MC of 19percent or less at time of manufacture)

Assumed

to have 15 percent initial moisture content

These assumptions appropriate for relatively thin material (i.e., 2 x floor joists and wall plates) Final moisture content can be taken as equilibrium moisture content (EMC) between 7 to 14 percent

Grade Marks

Commercial lumber species (Douglas Fir)

Grade Marks

Grade Marks

Grade Marks

HT heat-treated
Sometimes

heat-treated to kill insects for international

shipments Not the same as KD kiln dried Relatively high temperatures for relatively short times

Grade Marks

Machine Grading

Machine evaluation Lumber moves through a machine that nondestructively tests for a given property of the lumber such as density; other structural properties measured or derived Typically only used on lumber for which very accurate structural properties needed Also visually checked

Machine Grading