R-43.

2300
Puurakenteet I, 3 op.
Wood ; Structure and Properties ?
From cell scale . . .

Hannu Hirsi
2015
Aalto! / Eng . . . to atom scale.
Wood species in Finland:
Metsämänty – pine ( Pinus sylvestris )
Best for sawn timber. Pine
Metsäkuusi - spruce ( Picea abies )
Mostly available. Top (latva) Nice sound
Hieskoivu ( Betula pubescens ) log knots
Raw - material for paper.
Rauduskoivu ( Betula pendula ) Second Loose black
log knots
Very good for plywood.
Haapa ( Populus tremula ) Butt (tyvi) Surface almost
Useful in outdoor structures. log perfect
Tervaleppä ( Alnus glutinosa )
Indoor surfaces.
Harmaaleppä ( Alnus incana ) Spruce
Not so nice.
Pihlaja ( Sorbus aucuparia ) Sound knots
High case hardening
Sound black
www.puuproffa.fi / arkisto/ knots

Black and
sound knots
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Properties of wood
The density of trunk in different heights :

Pine 90 years old

- average 0.445

0.38 – 0.39

0.52 – 0.53

3
Properties of wood
The section of pine tree :
1. Unhomogenous material :

Pith Bark 2. Orthotropic structure :

Juvenile Sapwood
Parallel Core
wood Heart-
Heart-
wood

3. Visco-elastic
hygroscopic,
capillary material.
Radial
Tangential
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Properties of wood
Structure of the trunk :
In sawn timber there is
natural conical and
screwed structure :
Slope of grain
Local additional defects :
Specially around the knots

Annual growth. Bark

Sapwood
Pith

Suomalaisen pyöreän puutavaran lujuusluokaksi voidaan

olettaa C30 (YM 2007).
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Properties of wood
Special macrostructures of wood :
Knots – pin knots, sound knots cause no problems.
Loose knots, black knots, knots clusters reduce the strength.
Juvenile wood – try to avoid.
Low density and strength.
Reaction wood – not at all suitable for construction . . .
Conifer tree - lylyä, compression wood:
A lot of lignin, more tangential direction
After drying very brittle, high strength when wet.
Shingrage a alot in parallel and perpendicular direction.
Broad-leaved tree - vetopuuta, tension wood:
Less lignin.
Air-dried ductile, like normal wood and higher tension and lower
compression strength than normal timber has.
When wet the strength values are lower than normal wood has.

6
Properties of wood
Annual rings, early and late wood :
Every new layer of cells grows around
the trunk, new annual ring:
light spring- ja darker summerwood.
thickness changes according to year:
Pine: 0.1 - 10 mm, spruce: 0.5 - 12 mm,
birch: 0.5 - 10 mm.

Springwood has large cells thin cell/

walls but summerwood small cells and Spring-
Spring- Summer-
Summer-
thick cellwalls : wood wood
Springwood wall thickness 2 m. :
Porosity 80 %.
Summerwood wall thickness 10 m. :
Porosity < 40 %.
Pine has summerwood on average 25 %
and spruce 15 %.
Summerwood has a deciding factor for
the strength of timber.
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Properties of wood
Comparison of softwood (conifer) and
hardwood (leaved tree) :

Pine Ash Birch

( saarni )
Softwood (conifer) and hardwood (leaved
tree) are Not so dissimilar as these pictures.
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Properties of wood
Cellulose:
Most important part of cellstructure for strength.
40 - 50 % of wood.
Hygroscopic. (C6H10O5)n
Density 1 580 kg / m3.
Polymer, molecular chain length 15 m:
Grade of polymerization n = 1 500.
Anisotropic, elacticity modul parallel 5 x perpendicular
Both crystal and amorphous forms.
Load bearing part of cell wall.

Bundels of cellulose form mikrofibrills.

Amorphous Crystal

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Properties of wood
Hemicellulose:
Compared with cellulose almost no strength at all.
20 - 35 % of wood.
Very hygroscopic, low strength then wet.
Density 1660 kg / m3.
Polymer, molecylar chain length 15 m.
Grade of polymerization n < 200.
Branched chain, low molecular weight.
Anisotropic.
More amorphous forms.
Control the water content of cell wall.

10
Properties of wood
Lignin:
Isotropic ja fully amorphous material.
Density 1 410 kg / m3
Glue between fibrills, protecting fibrills.
15 - 35 % of wood. Other
Lignin
Cellulose

Hemicellulose

Other ?:
Solvent material as terpentines, resins, sugar, vaxes... (VOC)
3 - 5 % of wood.
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Properties of wood
Layers of cell wall :
Middle lamella M.
Primary wall P.
Secondary walls S1 - S3.
Nodule layer W.

12
Properties of wood
Structure of cell wall continues...

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Properties of wood
Tension parallel to grain :
Under tension always brittle fracture.
In summerwood middle lamella of lignin
between cells breaks because of high
shear stresses
Very uneven fracturesurface.
In springwood cells breaks because
stresses in fibres exceed their tensile
strength:
Molecular chains glide inside bundles.

Tensile strength of cellulose chains :

10 000 - 40 000 Mpa.
Tensile strength of cell wall :
200 - 1300 MPa.
Tensile strength of defect-free wood :
70 - 150 MPa. 14
Properties of wood
Tension perpendicular to grain:
Very brittle fracture. Tensile strength perpendicular
to grain is about 2 - 20 % parallel to grain strength.
Fibril angle and weak middle lamella explains low
strength.
Moisture movements decrease the strength.
Stiffness Strength

Fibril angle Fibril angle

15
Properties of wood
Compression parallel to grain:
Fibrils parallel to grain cells carry the
compression effectively:
Perpendicular fibrils support and bind fibrils
together with lignin.
Lignin and hemicellulose begin to yield
and glide and after this cell walls
collapse:
High shear stresses causes the triangular
fracture surfaces in cell walls.
Begins in early stage of loading.
Ductile, almost plastic fracture in wood.

16
Properties of wood
Compression prependicular to grain:
Perpendicula compression strength 4 - 25 %
of parallel compression strength.
In sprigwood cell walls deflects and finally
cells collapse .
In summerwood shearstresses are more
important.
Very plastic, ductile fracture.

17
Properties of wood
The strength of wood :
The quality and strength of timber
varies really much :
Very high and also very low values
By quality grading timber can be
divided into different classes :
Just in demand.

18
Properties of wood
Strength of timber :
Dens. Bending Tension Compress. Shear E

19
Properties of wood
Design values :
Sawn timber and glued laminated timber :

20
Properties of wood
Design values continues . . .
Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) :

21
Properties of wood
Wood and moisture:
Water in wood can be in cells or cell walls : End of the cell
Humidity
Free water or capillary water :
> 30 %
weak capillary forces.
Bound or hygroskopic humidity:
bound with hydrogen bonds.
Bound water inside cell walls increase distance
between molecular chains: Humidity
perpendicular movements big, parallel movements < 30 %
small
Sorption of wood and relative humidity:
0 - 20 % RH monomolecular sorption, chemical
bonds
20 - 60 % RH multimolecular sorption.
> 60 % RH capillary kondensation. Humidity
<6%
Moisture adsorption ja desorption are different
curves because of chemical bond forces.

22
Properties of wood
Moisture and strength:
Strength of wood decreases
until fiber saturation point
(FSP).
Biggest effects on compression
and bending strengths.
Smaller effect on tensile Tension

Strength
strength
Strength is biggest in around
Bending
5 % humidity.
Splitting of dry wood decrease
shear strengh
Compression

Moisture content
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Properties of wood
EC5, modification factor kmod :
Service classes 1 – 3 and load classes :

More detail in exercises.

24
Properties of wood
EC5, Creep value kdef :
Service classes 1 – 3 and different products :

25
Properties of wood
Summary :

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Properties of wood