Wood as a structural material

greatest contrast between wood and competitive materials arises in connection

with maintenance and damage repairs. A major criticism of a wooden product is
the high cost of maintenance.
There is a tendency for engineers and even architects to reject this ancient
and natural structural material in favour of the more uniform and more modern
manufactured materials but there is no need for them to be suspicious. If they are
given as much information about wood as about these newer materials, such as its
advantages and the correct way in which it should be utilised, perhaps they will
understand it better. They will find that it continues to be a reliable structural
material when many of the others have ceased to be available and have been
forgotten.
However, there is one feature of wood that is unique amongst all structural
materials: it is a crop that can be obtained whereas its competitors such as stone,
brick, metal and plastics are all derived from exhaustible resources. This feature is
alone sufficient to ensure that wood will continue to be used as a structural
material virtually forever and it is also likely to ensure that wood remains the
cheapest of all structural materials, [1].
The variability between woods of different species may appear to be a
disadvantage to the unintelligent user but it is, in fact, a distinct advantage, as
different species have different properties and there is almost always a suitable
wood for a particular purpose. The variability that occurs within wood from the
same species can be tolerated by increasing dimensions to introduce safety factors,
an acceptable procedure in view of the low cost of wood in comparison with
competitive materials. Wood is strong with outstanding rigidity in bending and
strength in compression. It is resilient, attractive and warm to the touch, easily
worked with either hand tools or semi-automatic industrial machinery. It is easily
joined with simple fixings such as adhesives, nails or bolts which do not require
elaborate tools. Wood has exceptional stability in the longitudinal direction, even
when subjected to fluctuating moisture content or exceptional temperatures. Wood
is normally durable when dry and comparatively inexpensive processes enable it
to withstand the most destructive biological agencies, such as insects and fungi.
Moreover, wood is free from corrosion. Its cellular structure ensures good
insulation properties and, while it is combustible, it maintains its integrity when
exposed to serious fires in which metals melt and concrete disintegrates.

1.2. WOOD STRUCTURE

1.2.1. Anatomy of wood
Features of wood structure include those of the wood-forming substance
and those of the whole wood. As a plant a tree consists of a crown of branches
with leaves, generally supported on a single main stem known as the trunk (or
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