Lesson 9

Study online at https://quizlet.com/_f9iabl

- AN ORGANIC MATERIAL, A NATURAL COMPOSITE OF CEL-
LULOSE FIBERS (WHICH ARE STRONG IN TENSION) EM-
BEDDED IN THE MATRIX OF LIGNIN WHICH RESISTS COM-
What is Wood? PRESSION.

- HAS BEEN USED FOR THOUSAND OF YEARS FOR BOTH

FUEL AND AS A CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL.
The main physical properties of wood include:
- color
- luster
- texture
- macro-structure
- odor
- moisture
- shrinkage
What are properties of wood? - internal stresses
- swelling
- cracking
- warping
- density
- sound - electro - thermal conductivity.

!olor, shine, texture, and macrostructure

determine the appearance of wood.
- Wood forms around a central core (pith)
in a series of concentric layers called
growth rings.

Structure of Wood - A cross section of wood shows the distinction between heart-
wood and sapwood. Heartwood, the central portion, is darker
and composed of xylem cells that are no longer active in the life
processes of the tree. Sapwood, the lighter area surrounding the
heartwood, containsactively conducting xylem cells.
1. Warping
2. Check and Splits
3. Pecking
4. Rot and Decay
5. Pith
6. Streaks
7. Insect Damage
Types of Natural Wood Defects in Deck Boards 8. Pitch, Gum and Sap
9. Wane
10. Crook or Crown
11. Bowing
12. Cupping
13. Twisting
14. Knot
Warping is any variation from a true plane surface on a piece
of lumber. This occurs due to differences in the radial, tangential
Warping
and/or longitudinal shrinkage of wood or when residual growth
stresses contort the board.
A check refers to a surface crack within the board, usually running
lengthwise. Splits, unlike checks, run all the way through the board
Checks and Splits
and a severe split can make it useless. Sometimes split boards
can be ripped or cut to salvage a portion of it.
Pecking is most common in cypress. It appears on lumber as a
Pecking dark shallow cavity or pitted area and occurs due to the action of
a parasitic fungus.
Rot is a common form of decay that refers to the disintegration
of the wood fiber and is caused by microscopic organisms like
1/3
Lesson 9
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_f9iabl
mold and fungus that feed off the wood. Many stains have mildew
Rot and Decay inhibitors to help prevent decay. The best way to avoid decay is to
keep your deck dry before and after it's installed.
Pith is the spongy center of the tree and it becomes a defect when
Pith
it appears on the board surface.
Some boards are discolored by streaks, commonly referred to as
mineral streaks. This happens when dark-colored minerals are
Streaks drawn into the tree from its
water source or when mold grows. The streaks are generally blue
or brown and can be cut out or concealed with a dark stain.
Many insects feed on wood and make their home there. Beetles,
moths, and wasps are common, as are borers, which are often
Insect Damage
"secondary invaders" attracted to wood already weakened, dam-
aged or dying.
These resinous substances, natural elements of trees, can gather
in pockets in a board, typically in an area where the tree was
Pitch, Gum and Sap
injured. Resin and sap can stain lumber and may cause difficulty
when applying finishes.
Wane refers to the presence of bark or the absence of wood at a
Wane
board's corners.
Crook or Crown A crook or crown is a defect in which the board is bent end-to-end.
Bowing refers to a defect in which the board bends along the grain
Bowing
lines (but not across them).
Cupping occurs when the board bends edge-to-edge across its
Cupping
face, forming a U-shape.
Twisting is a general term for a board that bends in any combina-
Twisting
tion of directions and cannot maintain a straight line.
A knot is a defect in a piece of wood caused by the presence of a
Knot
branch.
- NATURAL WOOD
2 COMMON FORMS OF WOOD
- ENGINEERED WOOD
Products that are harvested directly from trees and do not ex-
perience any fundamental changes. These materials generally
NATURAL WOOD
showcase the grains and defects that are found in natural grown
trees.
Woods that are made from natural wood that has been altered in a
ENGINEERED WOOD fundamental way so as to change the characteristics of the wood
it was made from.
- FLEXURAL/BENDING
- COMPRESSION
TESTING OF WOOD - SHEAR
- TENSION
- WATER CONTENT
- to measure flexural strength and flexural modulus.

Flexural Strength - the maximum stress at the outermost fiber on

BEND/FLEXURAL TESTING either the compression or tension side of the specimen.

Flexural Modulus - calculated from the slope of the stress vs. strain
deflection curve.
Consists of the sample placed horizontally upon two points and
Three-Point Bend Test the force applied to the top of the sample through a single point
so that the sample is bent in the shape of a "V".

-Roughly the same except that instead of the force applied through
Four-Point Bend Test
a single point on top it is applied through two points so that the

2/3
Lesson 9
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_f9iabl
sample experiences contact at four different points and is bent
more in the shape of a "U".
The opposite of tensile testing in that instead of pulling the ends
COMPRESSION TESTING
away from each the ends are pushed together.
Grain Compression Testing Requires the load to be applied along the grains of the test sample.
-Requires the load to be applied perpendicularly to the grain of the
Perpendicular Grain Compression Testing
wood sample.
Designed to apply stress to a test sample so that it experiences a
sliding failure along a plane that is parallel to the forces applied.
SHEAR TEST
To determine the shear strength, which is the maximum shear
stress that the material can withstand before failure occurs, of a
material.
Wood material is placed into a universal testing machine and
TENSILE TEST loaded in a manner that pulls the sample apart resulting in the
sample failing in tension.
Wood is hygroscopic, which means its moisture content will fluctu-
ate based on the relative humidity (RH) of the surrounding air. As
MOISTURE CONTENT humidity increases, the moisture content increases, and the wood
expands, and as the humidity decreases, moisture content
decreases, and the wood shrinks.

3/3