CIVIL ENGINEERING MATERIALS

CEX-203

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 TIMBER
• Fibrous substance obtained from trees
• Natural polymeric material which doesn’t age
• Wood can be classified as natural and Man-made
– Natural: Timber, Lumber etc
– Man-made: Plywood, fibreboards, chipboards, compressed wood,
impregnated wood, etc.
• Used in: Thermal insulation, sound absorption, electrical
resistance, ideal in sea water, good shock absorber, ideal in
hilly areas where earthquakes are common

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Classification of Trees
• Trees are either Endogenous or Exogenous
– Endogenous: Trees growing endwards E.g. Bamboo,
palm etc
– Exogenous: Trees grow outwards and are used for
making structural elements.
• Conifers: Trees having pointed needles. E.g. Deodhar, chil,
Fir, Pine and Larch
– Distinct annual rings, straight fibers, light in colour, resinous and
light weight
• Deciduous: have flat board trees. E.g. Oak, teak, shishum,
Poplar and maple
– Yield hard wood, non resinous, heavy weight and dark in colour

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Growth of Trees
• In spring the roots of the tree suck sap as food from the soil
which reaches the branches and leaves
• Sap contains moisture which gets evaporated
• It absorbs carbon from air in presence of sunlight and
becomes denser
• In autumn, sap descends and deposits in the form of a layer
below the bark
• This layer below the cambium layer hardens and adds layer of
wood to the outside of tree every year in the form of
concentric rings
• These rings furnish valuable information about the age,
uniformity of growth etc.

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Growth of Trees
• The cells formed in the cambium layer are referred as fibres
• They are cemented into groups by lignin and give strength to wood
• Grains in wood are caused by annual rings, direction and
arrangement of cells
• In Rapid growing trees,annual rings produce coarse grained wood
and in slow growing trees, annual rings produce fine grained wood
• Wood is straight grained when wood elements are straight and run
parallel else it is cross grained
• Cross grained has weakening effect on strength of beam when
slope of grain is greater or equal to 1:15
• Timber should be felled as soon as it is matured. Best time is
midsummer/midwinter when sap is at rest
• If it is felled when sap is vigorous in movement timber decays

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• Classification of Timber
– On the basis of Position
– On basis of grading
– On the basis of Modulus of Elasticity
– On the basis of Availability
– On the basis of Durability
– On the basis of seasoning characteristics
– On the basis of treatability

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• Characteristics of good timber
– Narrow annual rings, closer the rings greater is the
strength.
– Compact medullary rays.
– Dark colour.
– Uniform texture.
– Sweet smell and a shining fresh cut surface.
– When struck sonorous sound is produced.
– Free from the defects in timber.
– Heavy weight.
– No woolliness at fresh cut surface.

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• Seasoning of timber
– Timber cut from freshly cut trees is wet for normal
use and is dimensionally unsuitable
– Seasoning is the process of reducing moisture
content
– It is defined as the process of drying the woods to
a moisture content approximately equal to avg.
Humidity of surrounding where it is permanently
fixed
– Very rapid seasoning also should be avoided as it
increases hardness of wood and increases
resistance to penetration

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• Objectives of Seasoning
– Reduce the shrinkage and warping after
placement in structure
– Increase strength, durability and workability
– Reduce its tendency to split and decay
– Make it suitable for painting
– Reduce its weight

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• Methods of Seasoning
– Natural or Air seasoning:
• wood is sawn into planks and stacked under covered
shed to permit free circulation of air
• Air seasoning reduces moisture content by 12-15%
– Artificial Seasoning:
• Water Seasoning:
– Wood is kept in running water with their larger ends pointing
uptream
– The sap, gum and sugar from wood is leached out and is
replaced by water and these logs are kept in air to dry
– Quick process but elastic properties of wood are reduced

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• Methods of Seasoning
– Artificial Seasoning:
• Boiling: in water or exposing the wood to steam is quick
but expensive methods
– Kiln Seasoning:
• Adopted for rapid seasoning
• They are arranged for free circulation of heated air with
some moisture or super heated steam
• The circulating air takes up moisture required from
wood and seasons it
• For Succesful kiln seasoning the timber should be
brought to high temperature otherwise moisture from
outer layers will move to cooler interior layers
• Small loss in strength and wood is thoroughly dried
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• Methods of Seasoning
– Chemical/Salt Seasoning
• Aqueous solution of certain chemicals have lower
vapour pressures than pure water
• If outer layer is treated with these solutions the vapour
pressure will reduce and gradient will be setup
• Interior of timber retains its original vapour pressure
and tends to dry rapidly
• This results in flattening moisture gradient curves,
reduce slope of curves and reduce internal stresses
induced during drying
• Chemically treated timber exhibits fewer defects

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• Methods of Seasoning
– Electric Seasoning
• Logs are placed such a way that two ends touch the
electrodes
• Current is passed through the setup, being a bad
conductor wood resists the current flow generating
heat resulting in drying
• Drawback is wood may split

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• Defects in Timber
– Defects due to abnormal growth
• Longitudinal crack called checks which are usually
normal to annual rings. Affects durability
• Shakes are longitudinal separations reduce the
compressive and tensile values
• Knots: basis of twigs and branches buried by cambial
activity. These interrupt basic grain direction of wood.
Reduce strength of timber, workability etc.
– Defects due to conversion
• Conversion: felled tree converted to timber
• These defects are due to unsound practice in milling

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• Defects in Timber
– Defects due to seasoning
• Caused by movement which occurs in timber due to
changes in moisture content
• These defects result in loosening of fixings or disruption
of decoration, or both

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• Decay of Timber
– Decay due to fungal and bacterial attack (Control)
• Dryness of timber
• Shouldn’t be exposed to continuous wetting and drying
• If it is unavoidable, Felled tree should be air dried
rapidly and sawn timber should be Kiln Seasoned
• Adequate ventilation should be there to prevent fungal
attack

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• Decay due to Insects
– Termites
– Beetles
– Powder post beetles
– Carpenter ants
• Control of ants
– Using hydrocyanic acid gas but is not recommended
as it is very poisonous and dangerous
– Creosote but is not again advisable because of its
odour and colour
– The best alternative is common turpentine mixed
with a small quantity of orthodichlorobenzene. This
vapour is very deadly to insects and is not poisonous
to human beings and animals.
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• Preservation of Timber
– Oil type preservatives
– Organic Solvent preservatives
– Acetic anhydride treatment
– Water soluble preservatives

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• Application of Wood and Wood products
– piles, poles,various load-bearing components
formworks, scaffolds, etc
– floor materials—flooring boards, end-grain blocks
and fibre board; carpentry items— doors,
windows, partitions, panels and gates; roof
materials—shavings, tiles and shingles, members
of roof trusses; wooden structures—beams,
columns, slabs, and items of prefabricated houses.
– beams, trusses, arches, frames and roofs of
buildings

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