Wood & Wood Products

Materials and Component Testing for Wood Products

Wood and timber are natural organic materials that comprise the structural tissue of trees. They are composed of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin, which creates a material that is incredibly strong in both tension and compression. There are two forms of wood products: natural and engineered. Natural wood is harvested directly from natural growing trees, whereas engineered wood is man made by binding the fibers harvested from natural wood together with laminates or glues to form a different pattern of interlocking fibers that provide a material with characteristics that may not be found in natural wood products.

Wood and Timber Testing:

The most common reason for testing wood and timber products is to determine their ultimate or breaking strength in tension, compression and flexure. Most wood products that undergo mechanical testing are used in the construction, furniture and common goods manufacturing industries. The wood and timber products in these industries will experience these forces in various forms and combinations depending upon their application. The measured strength of the wood and timber material will determine if it is an acceptable candidate for a particular application.

Static and Dynamic Wood Test Methods:

Wood and timber material undergo simple tension, compression and flexural testing to determine their suitability for a specific application. For tensile testing a wood material is placed into a universal testing machine and loaded in a manner that pulls the sample apart resulting in the sample failing in tension. Compression testing of wood materials is the opposite of tensile testing in that instead of pulling the ends away from each the ends are pushed together. There are two different forms of compression testing: with grain and perpendicular to grain, each of which reveal a different set of characteristics about the tested material. With grain compression testing requires the load to be applied along the grains of the test sample, whereas, perpendicular to grain compression testing requires the load to be applied perpendicularly to the grain of the wood sample. Flexure testing requires the load to be applied perpendicularly to the grain at the midpoint of the sample while it is supported underneath at two points causing the sample to essentially bend in half. Tests can be performed statically or dynamically on wood products.

Natural and Engineered Wood and Timber Testing Specimens:

Wood and timber materials that undergo mechanical testing generally have one of two common forms: natural and engineered. Natural wood products are those that are harvested directly from trees and do not experience any fundamental changes. These materials generally showcase the grains and defects that are found in natural grown trees. Engineered wood materials are made from natural wood that has been altered in a fundamental way so as to change the characteristics of the wood it was made from. Engineered wood such as plywood, particleboard, and glue laminated timber are created using many different processes that are chosen based upon the desired characteristics for the material. These processes involve combining smaller pieces of wood or solid sheets of wood using laminates, glues or resin in order to form a product that possesses higher strength or flexibility than natural wood.

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