Someknowledgeofthepropertiesoftimberwillassistinmakingthemostsuitableselectionofmaterialforaparticularuse.

Thissectionisdevotedtoabriefdiscussionofsomeofthemoreimportantpropertiesoftimber,andhowthesecan
beemployedbythedesigner,specifierandengineerconcernedwithmarineandfreshwaterconstruction.
Adetailedpresentationofthepropertiesofindividualtimbersistobefoundinthesection'Suitabletimbers'.TableIIprovidesdataonthestrength,workingqualities,durabilityandtreatmentcharacteristicsofselectedtimbers,andTableIII
summarisescommonlyavailablelengthsanddimensions.
Anyonefamiliarwiththeuseoftimberwillhaveappreciatedthevariationofstrengthpropertiesthatareassociatedwithgrain.Thistermiswidelyusedinthetimberusingindustrytocovermanycharacteristics,suchastextureorrateof
growth.Inthisbooklet,itsusewillbeconfinedtothefollowingdefinition:Thegrainofthetimberisthedirectionoftheprincipalstructuralelementsinthewood,i.e.fibresortracheidsthiscanbedemonstratedbyagraindetector.Ifthis
grainisnotparalleltotheedgesofaboard,thenthestrengthwillbereducedinanamountproportionaltothatdeviation.Thustimbercanbecutfromthelogtohavediagonalgrain,oritmayhavespiralgrainifitcomesfromatreewhichhas
spiralgrowth.If,forexample,highbendingstrengthisrequired,itisnecessarytoselectstraightgrainedmaterial.Inothersituations,i.e.,rubbingpieces,graindeviationsuchasinterlockedgrainandwildgrainwillbeofadvantageas
thesedeviationsreducethetendencytosplitwhenthewoodissubjectedtomechanicaldamage.
Belowalevelofabout2530%moisturecontent,thestrengthoftimberincreaseswithdrying.However,inallthesituationsandusesoftimberdescribedinthisbooklet,themoisturecontentisunlikelytofallgreatlybelowthismoisturelevel
forlongperiodsandsoallstrengthpropertiesarequotedforthegreen(ave.30%)condition.(SeeTableII.)
Inmosttimbersavisualdistinctioncanbemadebetweensapwoodandheartwood,sapwoodusuallybeinglighterincolourthantheheart.Sapwoodisdefinedas:Thelayerofwoodnexttothebark,12mmto75mmormorewidethatis
activelyinvolvedinthelifeprocessesofthetree.Undermostconditionssapwoodismoresusceptibletodecaythanheartwoodasarule,itismorepermeabletoliquidsthanheartwood.Sapwoodisnotessentiallyweakerorstrongerthan
heartwoodofthesamespecies.
Theheartwoodoftimbervariesindurabilitytimberswhichareverydurablecanbesuccessfullyemployedtoprovideapermanentstructureintheuntreatedstate.Iftimberwithlowdurabilityisemployed,preservationwillbemoreeffective
inspecieswithpermeableheartwoodorintimberwithalargeamountofsapwood.(SeeTableII.)
Timberpresentsfewproblemsduringconstruction.Itislight,comparedwithmostalternativematerials,hasahighstrength/weightratio,andiseasytohandle.Theseareparticularlyusefulpropertiesatsiteswhereaccessandtransportation
aremainproblems.
Fromtheviewpointofflexibilityinconstruction,timberispreeminent.Forexample,itisseldompossibletopredicttheoptimumheightofagroyneinrelationtothebeach,and,evenifthiswerepossible,changingconditionswould
necessitateadjustment.Timberplankingisaverypracticalmethodofconstruction,permittingreadyadjustmentoflevel.Ingeneral,insiturepairoralterationoftimberstructuresisamuchsimpleroperationthanwithothermaterials.
Timberwithstandsshockloadscausedbytheseaandshippingbetterthanmanyothermaterials,andthispropertyofresiliencehasobviousadvantagesinmarineworkwherewind,waveorimpactloading,producesthehigheststresses.These
stressesareofshortduration,thustheshorttermloadingcharacteristicpeculiartotimberisofgreatimportanceinmarineconstruction.Theresilientcharacteristicisrationalisedintheadoptionofpermissibleshorttermstressesoffromone
andahalftotwicethedeadloadstresses.
ComparisonswithothermaterialsareusuallybasedonthegreenstressesfortimbergiveninTable3,ofCP112:1967:ImperialUnits,or1971:MetricUnits.
Ofallconstructionalmaterials,timberisuniqueinthatitdoesnotcorrode.Corrosion,coupledwithabrasion,mayresultinthelossofthicknessinsteel,orexposureofconcretereinforcement.
Generallytimberdriveswell,butthiswilldependonthecharacteroftheunderlyingstrata.Ifdrivenintoverysoftground,itsbuoyancymaycausefloatingout.Lighthammersandlargedropscanbeusedsuccessfullyfordrivingtimberpiles
withtheknowledgethatnodamagecanbecausedtothepile.Thisfactorcanbeofeconomicimportance,especiallywhendrivingoverwater,whenexpensivetemporarystagingmayberequired,orwhenaccessisrestrictedtolowtide
periods.Thereisdivergenceofopiniononwhicharethemostsuitablespeciesfordriving.Softwoodsareoftendrivenwithametalshoe,butthismaybeunnecessarywhendensehardwoodsareemployed.Steelbandsmaybeplacedaround
thetopofapiletopreventsplittingduringdriving.Alternatively,expandedmetalcapscanbeused,which,afterthefirstblow,becomeembeddedinthetimber.