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 Canadian Conseil
Wood canadien

Hardwoods Council du bois

 Maples
 Oaks
 Birches
 Elms
 Walnut
Typical Commercial Canadian Conseil
Wood canadien

Softwoods
Council du bois

 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)
 Canadian Conseil

Interior of a Tree Wood canadien

Council du bois

 Age
 Conditions of growth
 Structures
 Some properties
 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Cellular Makeup Wood canadien

Council du bois
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
 Canadian Conseil

Moisture Content Wood canadien

Council du bois
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
 First to be driven off as wood dries
 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)
 Canadian Conseil

Above FSP Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Below FSP Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Shrinkage Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Moisture Content Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Shrinkage Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Shrinkage Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Shrinkage Wood canadien

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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
 Canadian Conseil

Shrinkage Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Moisture Content Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Kiln Drying Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Rate of Drying Wood canadien

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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 four-
story wood-frame wall that uses Hem-Fir
lumber. Consider a decrease in moisture from
15 to 8 percent.
 Estimating Shrinkage – Example, cont’d.

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 DMC = 0.002 x d x DMC

Estimating Shrinkage – Example, cont’d.

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, cont’d.

Total S = 3 Sfloor + 12 Splate

Total S = 3 (0.158 in) + 12 (0.021 in)

Total S = 0.725 in ≈ ¾ 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 (MC≤19 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)
 Canadian Conseil

Specific Gravity Wood canadien

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Specific Gravity and Strength
 Canadian Conseil

Strength Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Compressive Strength Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Compressive Strength Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Strength Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Tensile Strength Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Tensile Strength Wood canadien

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Radial Stress in Curved Members
 Canadian Conseil

Bending Wood canadien

Council du bois
 Canadian Conseil

Longitudinal Shear Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Fatigue Loading Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Temperature Wood canadien

Council du bois
Preservative Processes, Fire-retardant
Chemicals
 Canadian Conseil

Thermal Expansion Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Insulation, Acoustics Wood canadien

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 Canadian Conseil

Pressure-Treating Wood canadien

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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
 Lesscommon
 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 ROUGH FULL

7 ¼ x 11 ¼ in SAWN SAWN
7-5/8 x 11-5/8 in 8 x 12 in
Dressed Lumber
NDS 2012 Supplement Chapter 3 Section Properties
Size Categories – Nominal Size Ranges

 Boards
¾ 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 Nominal Nominal Width Examples of Sizes

Thickness
Light Framing (LF) 2 to 4 in 2 to 4 in 2 x 2, 2 x 4, 4x4
and Structural
Light Framing (SLF)
Structural Joist and 2 to 4 in 5 in and wider 2 x 6, 2 x 14,
Plank (SJ&P) 4 x 10
Stud 2 to 4 in 2 in and wider 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 Nominal Nominal Width Examples of Sizes

Thickness
Beams and 5 in and thicker More than 2 in 6 x 10, 6 x 14,
Stringers (B&S) greater than 12 x 16
thickness
Posts and Timbers 5 in and thicker Not more than 2 in 6 x 6, 6 x 8,
(P&T) greater than 12 x 14
thickness

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
 Referencedesign 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
 Stud
 Decking
 Select Decking, Commercial 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

 Speciesor species group

 Other pertinent information

 Stress grade
 Iflumber 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 non-
destructively 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