Steel and Timber Design

BFC43003

Structural Timber Design

Department of Structural and Materials Engineering
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia

Introduction

Timber is unique in its structure and mode of growth, results in

characteristics and properties which are distinct and more
complex than those of other common structural materials such as
concrete, steel and brickwork.
Some of characteristic which influence design and are specific to
timber are:
a) the moisture content.
b) the difference in strength when loads are applied parallel and
perpendicular to grain direction.
c) the duration of application of the load.
d) the method adopted for strength grading of the timber.
As a live growing material, every identified tree has a name based
on botanical distinction (MS 544: Part 2: 2001:Table A1).
The design codes, however, adopt a classification based on stress
grading.

Applications

The Stadthaus, Hoxton, London: Tallest

timber building (9-story).

Applications
The University of British Columbia Earth
Sciences Building: A five-story wood
structure.

Applications

Nelson Marlborough
Institute of Technology, New
Zealand: Stand even during
earthquake 4th September
2010.

Physical Properties
Physical properties affecting strength of wood:

Moisture content
It is essential that wood is dried or seasoned under a
controlled condition before being used. With controlled
seasoning, moisture is expelled from the cell walls and the
timber shrinks.
This process enables gain of strength.
In MS 544: Part 1:2001, the strength properties or stresses are
given as wet stresses and dry stresses based on moisture
content.
a) Moisture content > 19% wet stresses
b) Moisture content < 19% dry stresses

Physical Properties

Specific gravity
A nominal specific gravity can be determined based on the
volume of wood at the time of test and its weigh when oven
dried.
Specific gravity is a good indicator of the strength of wood. It
also shows that amount of wood substance a piece of wood
contains.
Defects in timber
Seasoning defects twisting, cupping, bowing and cracking
caused by uneven exposure to drying agents.
Nature defects the presence of knots are often
accompanied by decrease in the physical properties of timber
such as the tensile and compressive strength.
Slope of grain stress parallel and perpendicular to grain
Modulus of elasticity this give stiffness and deflection factor of
wood.

Timber Design Procedure

Permissible stress design

When using permissible stress design, the margin of safety is
introduce by considering structural behaviour under
working/service load conditions and comparing the stresses
thereby induced with the permissible value :
Stress induced by working loads

failure stress
factor of safety

Timber Design Procedure

Stresses:
m , a , = applied bending stress perpendicular to the grain
m ,adm , = permissible bending stress perpendicular to the
grain
c , a ,|| = applied compressive stress parallel to the grain
c ,adm ,|| = permissible compressive stress parallel to the grain
a = applied shear stress

Whilst not given in the clause, the grade stress, g is often

used. Grade stress is defined as the stress which can safely be
permanently sustained by material of a specific section size
and of a particular strength class, or species and grade.
The grade stress is divided into four grades in MS 544, i.e.
Select-80%, Standard-63%, Common-50% and Basic.

Timber Design Procedure

Modification factor
Modification factors are multiplied with grade stresses to obtain
the design permissible stresses. Modification factor for solid
timber are K1 K9.

adm = g K n
K1

Duration of loading

K2

Load sharing

K3

Length and position of bearing

K4

Notched ends

K5

Form factor

K6

Depth factor

K7

Minimum MOE for trimmer joist and lintels

K8

Compression members

K9

Effective length of spaced column

Timber Design Procedure

Duration of loading, K1 (Cl 9)

The strength of a member is dependent upon the time of loading.
Wood has a unique structural property in that it can support
higher stresses if the loads are applied for a short period of time.
Group of load duration:
a) Long term no increase in the stress (DL + LLpermanent, ie. for
design floor) : K1=1.0
b) Medium term increment of 25% in stresses is allowed (DL+PL
for floor or DL+LL for roof design) : K1=1.25
c) Short term increment of 50% wind load of 15sec Class C
Building : K1=1.50
d) Very short increment of 75% wind load 35 sec Class A and B
: K1=1.75

Timber Design Procedure

Timber Design Procedure

Loading Sharing System, K2 (Cl.10)

1) 4 or more elements in a system acting together
2) Spacing no more 610 mm c/c
3) Lateral load distribution
When all criteria are fullfilled, therefore K2=1.1
Emean is used for K2=1.1, and Emin for K2=1.0 (no load sharing)

Timber Design Procedure

Timber Design Procedure

Bearing Stress, K3 (Table 6)

At any bearing on the side of timber, permissible stress in
compression perpendicular to the grain is depended on the
length and position of the bearing.
For a bearing length less than 150m long located 75mm or
more from end of a member as shown, K3 should be
determined according Table 6.

Timber Design Procedure

Timber Design Procedure

Shear at Notched End, K4 (Cl. 11.4)

Square corner notches at the ends of flexural member cause a
stress concentration which should be allowed for as follow:

Timber Design Procedure

Form factor, K5 (Cl. 11.5)

Grade bending stresses apply to solid timber members of
rectangular section, K5 = 1.0 and for other shapes of cross
section, as folllow:
K5=1.18 for solid circular sections
K5=1.41 for solid square section loaded on diagonal

Depth factor, K6 (Cl. 11.6)

The grade bending stress is applied to timber having a depth

of h>300mm. The grade bending stress should be multiplied
by the depth modification factor, K6 where:
h 2 + 92300
K 6 = 0 . 81 2

h + 56800

for solid and glued laminated beams.

Timber Design Procedure

Lateral stability (Cl. 11.8)

The depth to breadth ratio of solid and laminated beams of
rectangular section should be checked to ensure that there is
no risk of buckling under design load. Alternatively the
recommendation of Table 7 should be followed:

Solid Timber Beam Design

Beams are the most commonly used structural elements, for

example as floor joists, and as trimmer joists around opening,
rafters, etc.
The crosssection of a timber beam may be one of a number of
frequently used sections as those indicated in figure below.

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Solid Timber Beam Design

The principal considerations in the design of all beams are:

i) Bending
ii) Shear
iii) Bearing
iv) Deflection
v) Lateral stability

The size of timber beams may be governed by the requirements:

The elastic section modulus (Z), to limit the bending stresses
and ensure that neither lateral torsional buckling of the
compression flange nor fracture of the tension flange induce
failure
The cross section, to ensure that the vertical and/or
horizontal shear stresses do not induce failure
The second moment of area, to limit the deflection induced
by bending and/or shear action to acceptable limits.

Solid Timber Beam Design

Generally, the bearing area actually provided at the ends of a

beam is much larger than is necessary to satisfy the permissible
bearing stress requirement.
Lateral stability should be checked, it is frequently provided to
the compression flange of a beam by nailing of floor boards, roof
decking.
Most timber beams are designed as simply supported with
effective span.

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Solid Timber Beam Design

i) Bending

The applied bending stress is determined using simple elastic
bending theory:
Ma
m , a ,|| m , adm ,||
m , a ,|| =
Z
where:
m ,a ,|| = maximum applied bending stress parallel to the grain
M a = maximum applied bending moment

= elastic section modulus about the axis of bending (xx)

The permissible bending stress is given by:

m , adm ,|| = m , g ,|| K 1 K 2 K 5 K 6

where:
m , g ,|| = grade bending stress parallel to the grain

Solid Timber Beam Design

ii) Shear

The grade and hence permissible stresses given in the MS relate to

the max. shear stress parallel to the grain for a particular species or
strength class.
In solid beams of rectangular crosssection the maximum
horizontal shear stress occurs at the level of the neutral axis, and is
equal to 1.5 times the average value.
1 . 5V
a ,|| =
A
where:
a ,|| = maximum applied horizontal shear stress
V
A

= maximum applied vertical shear stress

= crosssectional area

The magnitude of a ,|| must not exceed adm ,|| given by:

adm ,|| = g ,|| K 1 K 2 K 4

a ,|| adm ,||

where: g ,|| = grade stress parallel to the grain

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Solid Timber Beam Design

For other type of cross sections:

F v Au y
bI x

where:

= the shear parallel to gain stress at level being considered

F v = the vertical external shear
Au = the area of beam above the level at which is being cal.
y = the distance from the neutral axis of the beam to the centre of
the area Au

I x = the complete second moment of area of the beam at cross

section being considered

b = the breadth of the beam at the level at which is being cal.

If F v A u y / I x is evaluated, this gives the total shear force parallel to
grain above the level being considered per unit length of beam.

Solid Timber Beam Design

iii) Bearing

The behaviour of timber under the action of concentrated loads,
e.g at positions of support, is complex and influenced by both the
length and location of the bearings, as shown in Figures (a) and (b).

The grade stress for compression perpendicular to the grain is used
to determine the permissible bearing stress.

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Solid Timber Beam Design

The actual bearing stress is determined from :

c,a , =

P
Ab

c , a , c , adm ,

where:
P = applied concentrated load
A b = actual bearing area provided

Solid Timber Beam Design

The actual bearing area is the net area of the contact surface and
allowance must be made for any reduction in the width of bearing
due to wane.

In timber engineering, pieces of wood with wane are frequently

not used and consequently this can often be ignored.

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Solid Timber Beam Design

iv) Deflection
 In the absence of any special requirements for deflection in
building, it is customary to adopt an arbitrary limiting value
based on experience and good practice.
 The combined deflection due to m (bending) and s (shear)
should not exceed (0.003x span) or 14mm whichever is the
lesser (Cl.11.7).

total ( m + s ) 0 . 003 L ;14 mm



These limitation are intended to minimize the risk of

cracking/damage to brittle finishes (plaster ceilings), unsightly
sagging or undesirable vibration under dynamic loads.
The calculated deflection for solid beams is usually based on
the bending action of the beam ignoring the effects of shear
deflection (this is considered when designing plyweb beams).

Solid Timber Beam Design

To determine m:

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Solid Timber Beam Design

To determine m:

Solid Timber Beam Design

To determine s:
The maximum shear deflection induced in single span simply
supported beam of either rectangular or square crosssection
may be determined from following equation:

s =

19 . 2 M max
AE

where:
= the cross section area of the beam
A
M max = the maximum bending moment in the beam

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Solid Timber Beam Design

iv) Lateral Stability
 A beam in which the depth and length are large in comparison
to the width (i.e. a slender crosssection) may fail at a lower
bending stress value due to lateral torsional buckling.
Buckling shape

Unbraced length

Solid Timber Beam Design

The critical value of bending moment which induces this type of

failure s dependent on several parameters, such as :
i) the relative crosssection dimensions
ii) shape of beam
iii) modulus of elasticity
iv) shear modulus
v) span
vi) degree of lateral restraint to the compression flange
vii) type of loading

This problem is accommodated in BS 5628Part 2: 2001 by

using a simplified approach based on practical experience, in
which limiting ratios of maximum depth to maximum breadth
area given relating differing restraint conditions. In Table 7 MS
544: Part 2, values of limiting ratios are given varying from 2
when no restraint is provided to maximum 7 for beams in
which the top and bottom edges are fully laterally restrained.

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Example 7.1 : Timber beam design

e actual bearing area is the net area of the contact surface and
allowance must be made for any reduction in the width of
bearing due to wane.

Example 7.1 : Timber beam design

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Example 7.1 : Timber beam design

Example 7.1 : Timber beam design

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Example 7.1 : Timber beam design

Example 7.1 : Timber beam design

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Example 7.1 : Timber beam design

Example 7.1 : Timber beam design

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Example 7.1 : Timber beam design

Example 7.2 : Timber beam design

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Example 7.2 : Timber beam design

Example 7.2 : Timber beam design

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Example 7.2 : Timber beam design

Example 7.2 : Timber beam design

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Example 7.3 : Timber beam design

Example 7.3 : Timber beam design

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Example 7.3 : Timber beam design

Example 7.3 : Timber beam design

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Example 7.3 : Timber beam design

Example 7.3 : Timber beam design

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Example 7.3 : Timber beam design

Example 7.3 : Timber beam design

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Example 7.3 : Timber beam design

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