wood A Flashcards
what is the positive of wood bc it has thousands of distinct species with enormous variation?
variation in mechanical properties between species
structure of a tree
- bark
- cambium
- sapwood
- rays
- heartwood
- pith
bark description
outer protective surface of tree, protects the growth layer from negative environmental effects
cambium description
area where new growth occurs, subsequently differentiates into microstructure
sapwood description
area of active cells and food storage. Movements of nutrients from roots to leaves occur through this area
rays description
transportation of food and nutrients in the radial direction
heartwood description
area of inactive wood, maintains the cell structure of sapwood
pith description
core of the tree
harwood description
generally a denser wood with more complicated microstructure. Corresponds to Deciduous trees
softwoods description
generally a simpler microstructure that is lighter, corresponds to coniferous trees
what is the microstructure of wood
- primarily composed of hollow, elongated, spindle-shaped cells that arranged parallel to each other along the trunk of a tree
- anisotropy due to directionality of these long narrow cells
what are the main components in the cells
- cellulose (50%)
- hemi-cellulose (25%)
- ligning (25%)
- extractives (rest)
cellulose description
- long, strong, thin fibers held in parallel orientation via molecular attraction (linear polymer made of thousands of the covalently bonded glucose units)
- fibers attract water molecules and are responsible for swelling and shrinking)
hemi-cellulose description
- provides fiber to fiber bonding
ligning function
binds cellulose fibers together and adjacent cells together
extractives function
gives flavour, colour, not structurally active
what is the difference between wood and timber
wood: small samples that are generally clear from defects
timber: large samples found in lumberyard which probably contain flaws
what does anisotropic mean for the wood
different material resistance depending on direction of loading
what are the different types of material resistance depending on direction of loading
- tension along cell axis (resisted by cellulose and hemi-cellulose)
- compression along cell axis: causes localized buckling of cells
- tension perpendicular to cell axis: pulls apart, only resistance is lignin
- compression perpendicular to cell axis: crushed cells
macrostructural parallels: which are stronger/weaker
- tension along grain (longitudinal direction) strongest
- compression along grain weaker, still strong in compression
- tension across grain weak
- compression across grain weak
how is moisture content created
cavities within the wood cells channel water up from roots via capillary suction
what are the two different forms water can exist in our structural lumber
- free water within the cell cavity
- bound water within the cellular walls
the moisture content differs …. bc of what
different structural properties
what is the fiber saturation point (FSP)
unique point when all the free water has evaporated from cell cavity, but cell walls still fully saturated
what happens when water goes below the saturation point
- there is removal of water from cell walls which causes compaction of molecular structure
- wood will shrink and become stronger
- mechanical properties of wood are related to the amount of moisture available
what happens to the mechanical properties of wood when moisture goes above FSP
little to no effect on mechanical properties
how does shrinkage occur and where does it occur
- loss of water from cell walls induces attractive forces between microfibrils, causing them to bunch together
- since microfibrils are parallel to the grain, there is large reduction in volume perpendicular to the axis of the cells
- there is small amount of shrinkage longitudinally
- shrinkage: tangentially> radially> longitudinally
what are the three axis of wood
- radial
- longitudinal
- tangential
when does wood’s dimensions change? what is result of that
- gains or losses moisutre below FSP
- shrinks when losing moisutre from cell walls, swells when gaining moisture in the cell walls
- shrinkage and swelling can result in warping, checking and splitting
what are the types of deffects
- knots
- shake
- check
- warping
knots description
- area where branches begin off of main trunk
- may get absorbed into the trunk during additional growth phases if branch falls off
- point of weakness and additional stress concentration in timber
shake description
seperation between annular growth rings