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Materials and Construction - I: Lecture O1 Dated: 13/02/2020

The document provides an overview of materials and construction topics related to timber. It discusses the classification of trees, classification of timber based on position, grading, modulus of elasticity, and durability. It describes the structure of timber, including the bark, cambium, sapwood, heartwood, and pith. It also covers the characteristics of good quality timber, methods of seasoning timber through natural or artificial means like air seasoning, water seasoning, boiling, and kiln seasoning. The document concludes with information about progressive and compartment kilns used for artificial seasoning.

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70 views14 pages

Materials and Construction - I: Lecture O1 Dated: 13/02/2020

The document provides an overview of materials and construction topics related to timber. It discusses the classification of trees, classification of timber based on position, grading, modulus of elasticity, and durability. It describes the structure of timber, including the bark, cambium, sapwood, heartwood, and pith. It also covers the characteristics of good quality timber, methods of seasoning timber through natural or artificial means like air seasoning, water seasoning, boiling, and kiln seasoning. The document concludes with information about progressive and compartment kilns used for artificial seasoning.

Uploaded by

awais anjum
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION – I

LECTURE O1
Dated: 13/02/2020
TOPICS TO BE COVERED
– Introduction: Timber as a Building material
– Classification of trees
– Classification of Timber
– Structure of timber advantages and disadvantages
– Characteristics of good quality of timber
– Seasoning of timber
– Defects in timber
– Diseases and Decay of Timber
– Preservation of Timber
– Bamboo (Structures & Importance)
– Principles of timber construction (flooring, walls,
roofs etc.)
TIMBER AS A BUILDING MATERIAL:
Wood is a hard and fibrous substance which forms a major part of the trunk and
branches of a tree. It can also be defined as a natural polymeric material which
practically does not age.
Wood as a building material falls in two major classes—natural and man-made.
With the advances in science and technology, wood in its natural form as timber,
lumber, etc. is being rapidly replaced by composite wood materials in which
natural wood is just a basic ingredient of a matrix or a laminate.
Some examples are plywood, fiberboards, chipboards, compressed wood,
impregnated wood, etc.
Wood has many advantages due to which it is preferred over many other
building materials. It is easily available and easy to transport and handle, has
more thermal insulation, sound absorption and electrical resistance as compared
to steel and concrete. It is the ideal material to be used in sea water. Wood is a
good absorber of shocks and so is suitable for construction work in hilly areas
which are more prone to earthquakes. Finally, since wood can be easily worked,
repairs and alterations to wood work can also be done easily.
Owing to the above mentioned advantages, wood is very widely used in
buildings as doors, windows, frames, temporary partition walls, etc. and in roof
trusses and ceilings apart from formwork.
CLASSIFICATION OF TREES:
Trees are classified as endogenous and exogenous according to the mode of
growth.

Endogenous Trees:
Trees grow endwards, e.g. palm, bamboo, etc.
Exogenous Trees:
Trees grow outwards and are used for making structural elements. They are
further subdivided as conifers and deciduous.

Conifers:
They are evergreen trees having pointed needle like leaves, e.g. deodar, chir, fir,
kail, pine and larch. They show distinct annual rings, have straight fibres and are
soft with pine as an exception, light in colour, resinous and light weight.

Deciduous:
These trees have flat board leaves, e.g. oak, teak, shishum, poplar and maple. The
annual rings are indistinct with exception of poplar and bass wood, they yield
hard wood and are dark in colour and heavy weight.
CLASSIFICATION OF TIMBER:
The terms timber and wood are often used synonymously, but they have distinct
meanings in the building industry. Wood is the hard, fibrous material that makes
up the tree under the bark, whereas timber may be defined as a wood which
retains its natural physical structure and chemical composition and is suitable for
various engineering works.

On the Basis of its Position:


Standing Timber implies a living tree.
Rough Timber forms a part of the felled tree.
Converted Timber are logs of timber sawn into planks, posts, etc.

On the Basis of Grading:


Structural Grading:
It is also known as stress grading. However, there is a small distinction between
the two. Structural grading refers to the principle by which the material is graded
on the basis of visible defects which have known effects on the strength
properties of the material.
Stress grading refers to the principle by which the material is graded by
consideration of maximum principle stresses to which it can be subjected.
On the Basis of Modulus of Elasticity:
The species of timber recommended for constructional purpose are classified as
Group A: Modulus of elasticity in bending above 12.5 kN/mm 2
Group B: Modulus of elasticity in bending above 9.8 kN/mm2
Group C: Modulus of elasticity in bending above 5.6 kN/mm2

On the Basis of Durability:


High Durability average life of 120 months and over.
Moderate Durability average life of less than 120 months but of 60 months or
more.
Low Durability average life of less than 60 months.

On the Basis of Seasoning Characteristics:


Highly Refractory (Class-A) are slow and difficult to season-free from defects.
Moderately Refractory (Class-B) may be seasoned free from surface defects, etc.
if some protection is given against rapid drying.
Non Refractory (Class-C) These can be rapidly seasoned free from defects.
STRUCTURE OF TIMBER:
A tree can be divided into three portions, crown—composed of branches and
leaves, trunk, and roots. The trunk accounts for about 80 per cent of the total
bulk of wood. Figure shows the structure of well grown timber from trunk of the
exogenous tree. The structure of timber visible to naked eye or at a small
magnification is called macro structure, and that apparent only at great
magnifications, the micro structure. Macro structure of the timber can be studied
by cutting the trunk in three directions.
In the cross-sectional and radial ducts, the following main parts of a tree, e.g.
bark, cambium, sap wood, heart wood and pith, become readily apparent (Fig.).
Each of the components has a specific function. The bark protects the wood
against mechanical damage. Its inner layer, called bast conveys the nutrients from
the crown downwards and stores them. The function of cambium is to grow
wood cells on the inside and smaller bast cells on the outside. The sapwood
assists in the life process of tree by storing up starch and conducting sap. The cells
in the sap wood are active.
The heart wood gives a strong and firm support to the tree. With the growth of
tree, the cells in the inner older portion of trunk gradually become inactive and
lifeless, but do not decay. This portion of the trunk is called heart wood. At the
centre of the cross-section is the pith, a small area occupied by friable tissues
consisting of thin walled, loosely connected cells called pith. In a felled tree, it
easily crumbles and rots. In the cross-sectional direction, nutrients pass from
bast to the heart through groups of cells running at right angles to the cambium
layers and are referred to as medullary rays.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD TIMBER:

The principal characteristics of timber of concern are strength, durability and


finished appearance.
 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.
 Free from the defects in timber.
 Heavy weight.
 No woolliness at fresh cut surface.
SEASONING OF TIMBER:

Timber cut from freshly felled trees is too wet for normal use and is dimensionally
unsuitable. Seasoning is the process of reducing the moisture content (drying) of
timber in order to prevent the timber from possible fermentation and making it
suitable for use. It can also be defined as the process of drying the wood to a
moisture content approximately equal to the average humidity of the
surroundings, where it is to be permanently fixed. Very rapid seasoning after
removal of bark should be avoided since it causes case hardening and thus
increases resistance to penetration of preservatives. Some of the objects of
seasoning wood are as follows:
 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.
METHODS OF SEASONING:

Timber can be seasoned naturally or artificially.

Natural Seasoning:
The log of wood is sawn into planks of convenient sizes and stacked under a
covered shed in cross-wise direction in alternate layers (Fig.) so as to permit free
circulation of air. The duration for drying depends upon the type of wood and the
size of planks. The rate of drying is however very slow. Air seasoning reduces the
moisture content of the wood to 12–15 per cent. It is used very extensively in
drying ties and the large size structural timbers.
Artificial Seasoning:
The prevalent methods of artificial seasoning are as follows:

Water Seasoning:
The logs of wood are kept completely immersed in running stream of water, with
their larger ends pointing upstream. Consequently the sap, sugar, and gum are
leached out and are replaced by water. The logs are then kept out in air to dry. It
is a quick process but the elastic properties and strength of the wood are
reduced.
Boiling:
Boiling in water or exposing the wood to the action of steam spray is a very quick
but expensive process of seasoning.
Kiln Seasoning:
It is adopted for rapid seasoning of timber on large scale to any moisture content.
The scantlings are arranged for free circulation of heated air with some moisture
or superheated steam. The circulating air takes up moisture required from wood
and seasons it. Two types of kilns, the progressive (Fig.) and the compartment
(Fig.) are in use.
PROGRESSIVE KILN

COMPARTMENT KILN
THE END

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