Forest Products Laboratory

Title: Mechanical properties of wood

Author: Green, David W.; Winandy, Jerrold E.; Kretschmann, David E.

Date: 1999

Source: Wood handbook : wood as an engineering material. Madison, WI : USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, 1999. General technical report FPL ; GTR-113: Pages 4.1-4.45

Station ID: GTR-FPL-113

Description: The mechanical properties presented in this chapter were obtained from tests of small pieces of wood termed “clear” and “straight grained” because they did not contain characteristics such as knots, cross grain, checks, and splits. These test pieces did have anatomical characteristics such as growth rings that occurred in consistent patterns within each piece. Clear wood specimens are usually considered “homogeneous” in wood mechanics. Many of the mechanical properties of wood tabulated in this chapter were derived from extensive sampling and analysis procedures. These properties are represented as the average mechanical properties of the species. Some properties, such as tension parallel to the grain, and all properties for some imported species are based on a more limited number of specimens that were not subjected to the same sampling and analysis procedures. The appropriateness of these latter properties to represent the average properties of a species is uncertain; nevertheless, the properties represent the best information available. Variability, or variation in properties, is common to all materials. Because wood is a natural material and the tree is subject to many constantly changing influences (such as moisture, soil conditions, and growing space), wood properties vary considerably, even in clear material. This chapter provides information, where possible, on the nature and magnitude of variability in properties. This chapter also includes a discussion of the effect of growth features, such as knots and slope of grain, on clear wood properties. The effects of manufacturing and service environments on mechanical properties are discussed, and their effects on clear wood and material containing growth features are compared. Chapter 6 discusses how these research results have been implemented in engineering standards.

Keywords: Wood properties, mechanical properties, elasticity, strength, vibration

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Citation

Green, David W.; Winandy, Jerrold E.; Kretschmann, David E.  1999.  Mechanical properties of wood.   Wood handbook : wood as an engineering material. Madison, WI : USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, 1999. General technical report FPL ; GTR-113: Pages 4.1-4.45.