Wood

Wood

Wood is the oldest and still most

widely used of structural materials
Documented use in buildings and
spans more than 5000 years
Today world production is about the
same as that of iron and steel, 108
tonnes/year
Much of this is used structurally
beams
joists
flooring

By examining the structure of wood

it is possible to relate it to the
mechanical properties
Trees have had millions of years to
optimize their structure

Trees and Bending

Wind

Trees have
evolved to resist
the bending of the
trunk and
branches
They act as
cantilevers
3

Definitions of Directions
Axial = parallel to grain

Radial or Tangential = perpendicular

to grain

Mechanical Properties of Wood

15-20
times

steel 27

2
times

Ell

20
times

Douglas Fir 30

The Structure of Wood

The main cells (fibres or tracheids)

of wood run axially up and down the tree
this is the direction of greatest strength

The wood is divided radially by growth

rings
there are differences in density and cell
size caused by rapid growth in the spring
and summer and slow growth in the
autumn and winter

Most of the growing processes take place

in the cambium
a thin layer just below the bark
the rest of the wood is more or less dead
with its function mechanical: to hold up
the tree!
6

Macrostructure of Wood

Outer Bark Layer

dry dead tissue that protects tree

Inner Bark Layer

moist and soft
carries food from leaves to growing part of the
tree

Cambium Layer
tissue layer between barks and the wood
majority of the growth occurs here

Sapwood
light coloured wood in outer part of the tree
carries sap from the roots to the leaves of the tree

Heartwood
older area of the tree lots of dead cells provide
strength for the tree

Pith
Centre of tree

Wood Rays
connect the pith to the bark
provides some food storage and transfer of food

Microstructure of Wood

We can examine the microstructure of wood at

a microscopic level using a light microscope or
a scanning electron microscope
This gives us an idea how wood is able to
function with remarkable efficiency
Wood is made up of long hollow cells

Fibres or tracheids
they are squeezed together like straws
glued together
most of these are parallel to the axis of the tree

The axial sections show roughly hexagonal

cross-sections of cells (20 40m in diameter)
Radial and tangential sections show the long
and thin shape of the cells (2 4 mm in length)
It is these cells that give the wood its stiffness,
strength and toughness

Wood at a Molecular Level

The walls of the cell have a structure

that is like a composite material
such as fibreglass
Instead of the strong glass fibres the
cell has fibres of crystalline
cellulose (microfibrils)
Cellulose is a polymer (C6H10O5)n
made by the tree from glucose,
C6H12O6
by a condensation reaction
Degree of Polymerisation = 104
linear polymer with no bulky side
groups
high level of crystallinity
account for 45% of the cell wall

It is important
to notice how
the cellulose
is oriented in
each wall.

Primary Random
Outer 45 angles
Middle 0
9
Inner 45 angles

Wood at a Molecular Level

The remaining 55% of the cell wall

is
lignin an amorphous polymer (like
epoxy in fibre glass)
hemicellulose, a partly crystalline
polymer with DP lower than
cellulose
water and extractives (oils and
salts)

The cell walls

are made of
microfibrils in
a matrix of
lignin and
10
hemicellulose

Properties of Cell Walls

Because of the way the cellulose is wound around the
cell walls
it gives a modulus and strength which are large parallel to
the cell axis
but smaller across it (factor of 3)

A little less stiff, but nearly as strong as an aluminum

alloy
Property

Axial

Density, s (Mg m-3)

Transverse
1.5

Modulus, Es (GPa)

35

10

Yield Strength, y (MPa)

150

50
11

Role of the Intercelluar Regions

Binds the cells together
Primarily composed of lignin and hemi-cellulose
Low strength and stiffness

12

Mechanical Properties of Wood

All the properties of wood depend to some extent on the
water content
Green wood can contain up to 50% water
By seasoning for 2 to 10 years, or kiln drying for a few
days, this reduces to around 14%
The wood shrinks and its modulus and strength increase
this is because the cellulose fibrils become more closely packed

The wood is usually dried to the value which is in

equilibrium to where it will be used
this prevents movement
13

Compressive Deformation

14

Tangential Compressive Deformation

15

Radial Compressive Deformation

16

Axial Compressive Deformation

17

Axial

Radial

Tangential

wall
bending
linear
elastic

wall
bending
linear
elastic

nonuniform
cell
collapse

uniform
cell
collapse

Plastic
Deform.

cell collapse
by end cap
fracture

cell collapse
by local
buckling

Plastic
Deform.
18

Effect of Cell Wall Thickness

As cell wall thickness increases,
density of wood increases (hardwood vs. softwood)
Strength and stiffness increase (cells are more
difficult to deform
Effect depends on loading orientation (larger for
radial or tangential loading)

19

Elastic Modulus
Parallel to the Cells
Ewll

Es
s

- density of the wood

s - density of the cell wall
Es - stiffness of the cell wall

fraction of cross-section
s
occupied by the cell wall

20

Elastic Modulus

Perpendicular to the Cells

Ew

Es
s

Cell wall
bending gives
the linear
elastic portion
of the stressstrain curve

Transverse modulus, Ew, is lower

partly because the cell wall is less stiff in this
directions
when the wood is loaded across the grain the
cell walls bend, and it behaves like a foam
21

Elastic Modulus
Anisotropy
Ewll s

Ew
The lower the density the
greater the elastic anisotropy

22

Strength
Parallel to the Cells
wll

s
s

s yield strength of solid

cell wall

Perpendicular to the Cells

w

s
s

23

Summary of Strength and Stiffness of Wood

Anisotropic stiffness and strength
Stronger in tension than in compression

Difference between various woods is related

to the thickness of cell walls
24

Tree Rings

The light areas are

Earlywood. They have
thin walls, large diameter

The dark areas are

Latewood. They have thick
25
walls, small diameter