Strength Performance of Full-Size Structural Timber of

Dryobalanops Species of Sarawak, Malaysia

Alik Duju
Senior Researcher
TRTTC, Sarawak Forestry Corporation
Kota Sentosa, 93250 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
&
Badorul Hisham Abu Bakar
Senior Lecturer
Engineering Campus, University of Science Malaysia
Seri Ampangan, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Summary
A total of s ix Dryobalanops species viz., D. beccarii, D. fusca, D. oblongifolia, D. lanceolata, D. rappa
and D. sumatrensis found in Sarawak, Malaysia were used in this study. The objective of the study was
to evaluate the strength performance of full size structural timber of the species. Samples with nominal
dimensions of 50 mm by 100 mm were used for the tests. Strength values were determined based on
British Standards namely BS 5820:1979 and BS 373:1957. Universal testing machine and Horizontal
tensile testing machine were used to determine the strength values. It was found that D. beccarii was
the strongest in terms of bending strength (MOR) followed by D. sumatrensis, D. lanceolata, D.
oblongifolia, D. fusca and the weakest was D. rappa. The mean values of MOR of the timber species
was 68.14 MPa and 79.82 MPa at green and air-dried conditions, respectively. This showed an increase
of 17.14% in their strength. With respect to the tensile strength parallel to grain (TS), D. beccarii also
yielded the highest values followed by D. oblongifolia, D. lanceolata, D. sumatrensis, D. fusca and the
lowest was D. rappa. The mean values of TS were 62.10 MPa and 71.50 MPa, respectively. An
increase of 15.14% in strength was observed. The rates of change in MOR and true modulus of
elasticity values for every percent changes of moisture below fibre-saturation point were 1.50% and
0.36%, respectively. The corresponding values for TS were 1.32% and modulus of elasticity in tension
was 0.96%. The strength ratios of MOR for almost defect- free full size structural and small clear
specimens were 0.75 and 0.77 under both testing conditions, respectively.

1. Introduction
Sawn timber is widely being used as construction materials in the housing and construction industry
particularly in Sarawak, Malaysia. Mamit (1987) identified 12 timber species commonly used in this
industry. One of the timbers identified is from Dryobalanops species. For years, strength properties of
timbers were obtained from testing of small defect free specimens. These strength values are being
used to classify timber species to timber groups, which are used to derive the grade stresses. However,
the assumptions of stress ratio used to derive the allowable unit stress could not work effectively for
every timber species. It is well known that using the results from full size structural timber was
considered to be more reliable to allocate the design stress as to eliminate the risk of stress ratio
assumptions. In addition, the values will reflect more on the actual strength of timber in use. So far,
there is lack of information on strength properties on full size structural timber hence engineers,
architect, designers and builders tend to use other materials such as concrete and metal for building and
construction. The proper and effective utilization of timber as building and construction materials very
much depend on the experience and understand ing the technical data and also structural behavior with
regards to each particular timber species and species group. Therefore, the objectives of the study are to
obtain the physical and mechanical strength information on full size structural properties of the timber
species.

2.1 Materials and Testing Methods

2.1.1 Materials and sampling methods
A total of six Dryobalanops species found in Sarawak, Malaysia were obtained and used in this study.
The timber species viz., D. beccarii, D. fusca, D. oblongifolia, D. lanceolata, D. rappa and D.
sumatrensis. The species were selected and identified at the felling sites while re-confirmation to the
species level was done at the laboratory. The trees selected for sampling should be in a good form and
with minimum of 450 mm dbhob. The selected trees were obtained from two types of forests namely
Mixed Dipterocarp Forest and Peat Swamp Forest. Sampling of specimens was made from bottom to
top portion of the tree. The log was then ripped into half through the pith to obtain the flitches. The
flitches were subsequently further ripped across the diameter and converted to the sample size of 50
mm by 100 mm by 2000 mm and 50 mm by 100 mm by 3000 mm for static bending and tensile test,
respectively. The timber samples were then divided equally into two batches namely for green and air-
dried conditions. The total number of samples for each species and types of test was 40 for both
conditions. Under the air-dried condition, the samples were seasoned from green to air-dry under
normal atmospheric condition until the moisture content of the samples reached the equilibrium
moisture content. Once the samples reaching the air-dry conditioned, the samples were planed and
machined to the required sizes. Prior to strength tests, samples were conditioned at the temperature of
20±3°C.

2.1.2Testing Methods
The procedure of testing was adopted according to the British Standard BS 5820:1979. Static bending
tests were carried out with the Universal testing machine of having a maximum loading capacity of 200
kN. The two-point loading system was applied on 1800 mm span in which the loading direction was
performed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the samples. The distance between the supporting
and the loading points and the distance between each loading point was 600 mm respectively. Hence,
the apparent and true modulus of elasticity (Eapp and Etru) and modulus of rupture (MOR) were
obtained.
Tensile test was carried out with the Horizontal tensile machine of having a maximum loading capacity
of 1000 kN. The total span of 2000 mm was used and the elongation in 1000 mm gauge length at mid
span of the samples was recorded and measured using personal computer. The load direction was
parallel to the direction of the fibres of the test samples. Hence, tensile strength (TS) and modulus of
elasticity in tension parallel to grain (Ets) were obtained.
The small clear specimens were obtained from full size structural specimens. The size of test specimen
was 20 mm by 20 mm by 300 mm. Centre-point loading was applied to the specimen with the span of
280 mm. The procedure of testing was adopted according to the British Standard BS 373:1957.
Universal testing machine of having loading capacity of 50 kN was used to determine the modulus of
elasticity (MO Esc) and modulus of rupture (MORsc).

2.2 Moisture Content and Density Determination

The specimens used for sampling of moisture content were free from defects such as knots, resin
pockets and other natural defects. The moisture content was determined by the oven-dry method in
which the specimens were oven-dried at 103±2°C until a constant weight was obtained. For basic
density, the water displacement method was used to get the initial volume and weight was measured by
electronic balance. Hence, the basic density of test specimens was calculated from the ratio of oven-
dried weight to green volume at the time of test (at air-dried condition).

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Strength Properties
Six timber species of Dryobalanops were tested for physical and mechanical properties. Physically, the
timbers were so similar that it was impossible to differentiate and identify the species individually
using naked eye. It could be identified correctly to species level by using microscopic examination on
micro- struc tures of the timber. For commercial and utilization purposes, the timbers were grouped
under Dryobalanops species. Hence, the physical and mechanical strength data of species were pooled
for further statistical analysis. The mechanical strength of the timber were evaluated both at green and
air-dried conditions. The main test results viz., the mean values with coefficient of variation in
parenthesis of Eapp , Etru, MOR, Ets, TS, density and moisture content for full size structural and also
MOEsc and MORsc for small clear specimens both for green and air-dried conditions as shown in Table
1. A total of 240 pieces of timber samples comprising all the six species.

Tab 1 Result on the physical and mechanical properties of Dryobalanops species

STRUCTURAL SMALL CLEAR

Timber Con n Eapp Etru MOR Ets TS D MC MORsc MOEsc
species (GPa) (GPa) (MPa) (GPa) (MPa) (g/cm3) (%) (MPa) (GPa)
D. G 40 17.47 19.21 74.20 18.62 69.38 0.70 56.61 106.58 14.90
beccarii AD 40 21.61 22.48 90.50 21.02 78.74 0.82 15.34 134.81 17.26
D. G 40 16.12 17.76 65.14 17.22 57.88 0.63 65.25 89.90 12.70
fusca AD 40 16.24 17.05 73.79 18.57 68.03 0.72 15.08 115.60 14.63
D. G 40 17.49 18.68 67.58 19.00 65.15 0.67 52.16 93.71 13.56
oblongifolia AD 40 17.90 19.51 78.77 19.43 73.87 0.78 16.12 130.63 15.63
D. G 40 17.88 19.44 69.30 17.46 61.45 0.68 54.62 96.19 13.68
lanceolata AD 40 19.03 20.27 81.08 19.94 71.20 0.78 15.36 130.00 16.84
G 40 15.01 16.83 61.32 16.34 57.65 0.64 53.28 81.76 13.28
D. rappa AD 40 16.35 17.04 71.20 19.65 67.65 0.74 15.68 116.78 15.59
D. G 40 18.40 19.57 71.28 17.92 61.07 0.68 42.36 95.49 13.96
sumatrensis AD 40 18.89 19.71 83.57 19.83 70.18 0.79 15.79 131.14 16.68
G 240 17.06 18.58 68.14 17.76 62.10 0.67 54.05 93.94 13.68
Dryobalanops
(12.4) (11.3) (17.2) (11.3) (19.2) (7.6) (24.4) (14.6) (11.9)
species AD 240 18.34 19.34 79.82 19.72 71.50 0.77 15.56 126.48 16.10
(14.8) (14.7) (16.6) (12.1) (15.2) (7.7) (7.4) (11.5) (10.2)

It was indicated that the strength values of Eapp were lower compared to the Etru and this was due to the
effect of shear deformation that occurred during the testing of the specimens. It was calculated that the
apparent modulus of elasticity was 8.18% and 5.17% lower than true modulus of elasticity tested at
green and air-dried conditions, respectively. The mean values of bending strength for full size structural
specimens of D. beccarii was 74.20 MPa, D. fusca was 65.14 MPa, D oblongifolia was 67.58 Mpa, D.
lanceolata was 69.30 MPa, D. rappa 61.32 and D. sumatrensis was 71.28 MPa at green condition.
Under the air-dried condition, the bending strength of D. beccarii was 90.50 MPa, D. fusca was 73.79
MPa, D. oblongifolia was 78.77 MPa, D. lanceolata was 81.08 MPa, D. rappa 71.20 MPa and D.
sumatrensis was 83.57 MPa. As far as bending strength was concerned, D. beccarii was the strongest
followed by D. sumatrensis, D. lanceolata, D. oblongifolia, D. fusca and D. rappa was the weakest.
The overall mean for the bending strength of the species was 68.14 MPa with 17.2% coefficient of
variation and 79.82 MPa with 16.6% coefficient of variation tested at green and air-dried conditions,
respectively. This showed an increase of 17.14% in term of their strength.
In term of their tensile strength, D. beccarii exhibited the highest strength of 69.38 MPa followed by D
oblongifolia with 65.15 MPa, D. lanceolata with 61.45 MPa, D. sumatrensis with 61.07 MPa, D. fusca
with 57.88 MPa and the lowest D. rappa with 57.65 MPa. The overall mean value of tensile strength of
the species was 62.10 MPa with coefficient of varia tion of 19.2% tested at green condition. At air-dried
condition, D. beccarii gave the highest tensile values of 78.74 MPa and was followed by D.
oblongifolia with 73.87 MPa, D. lanceolata with 71.20 MPa, D. sumatrensis with 70.18 MPa, D. fusca
with 68.03 MPa and D. rappa with 67.65 MPa in the descending order. The overall mean of tensile at
air-dried condition was 71.50 MPa with coefficient of variation of 15.2%. An increase of 15.14%
strength was observed.
The overall mean values of bending strength using small clear sample were 93.94 MPa with coefficient
of variation of 14.6% and 126.48 MPa with coefficient of variation of 11.5% at green and air-dried
conditions, respectively. The overall mean values of modulus of elasticity of defect-free samples were
13.68 GPa with coefficient of variation of 11.9% and 16.10 GPa with coefficient of variation of 10.2%
at both conditions, respectively. These data however could not directly be used in timber design, as a
lot of factors such as duration of loading, size and shape of member and safety factor have to be
considered. In addition, the data from small clear specimens did not reflect the actual strength of full
size structural components of timber.

3.2 Density and Moisture Content

Based on the density, D. beccarii was the heaviest followed by D. sumatresis, D. lanceolata, D.
oblongifolia, D. rappa. and D. fusca was the lightest amongst them. The overall mean for basic density
and air-dried density of timber species were 0.67 g/cm3 and 0.77 g/cm3 respectively. Under its density
the timber could be classified under Medium Hardwood as specified under the Malaysian Grading
Rules. The mean of moisture content of the species for green condition ranged from 42.36% to 65.25%
with their overall mean values of 54.05% with 24.4% coefficient of variation. This range of moisture
content was considered as green condition as the moisture content had far exceeded the fibre saturation
point. Alik and Nakai (1997b) in their study showed that above fibre saturation point, the strength
values appeared to be constant as the moisture content increased. In this case, within the green
condition, there was no affect on the strength of timber with an increase or loss of moisture content.
The mean value moisture content of air-dried sample ranged from 15.08% to 16.12% and their overall
mean values were 15.56% with 7.4% coefficient of variation. Below the fibre saturation point, it would
that be very much affected the timber strength. It was observed that there was a high variation in
moisture content in green compared to air-dried timber and this could lead to the conclusion that drying
would result in a more uniform distribution of moisture content inside the wood.

3.3 Effect of Moisture Content on Strength Properties

As indicated in the study conducted by Alik and Nakai (1997b) that the fibre saturation point was 27%
for D. rappa. Hence, the value of 27% was used for reference point of fibre saturation point of the
species. Thus, the rate of change for bending strength and modulus of elasticity were 1.50% and 0.36%
respectively for a decrease of 1% of moisture content below fibre saturation point. It was indicated
using small clear specimen that the rate of change for modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity
were 3.03% and 1.55% respectively for every 1% changes in moisture content below fibre saturation
point. The values indicated that there was a little increased both for modulus of elasticity and modulus
of rupture for full size structural compared to the small clear specimens. The possible reason that
contributed to the trend was that structural size sample contained a lot of wood defects particularly
knots both at flatwise and edgewise orientations of timber sample. Another possible reason was the
inherent characteristics of the timber itself and the wide moisture gradient in the bigger timber samples.
The rate of change for tensile strength and modulus of elasticity in tension were 1.32% and 0.96%
respectively for a decrease of 1% of moisture content. Figures 1 and 2 showed the normalized ranks of
bending and tensile strength in green and air-dried conditions, respectively. The figures indicated that
almost parallel increase both for bending and tensile strength starting from the 10 th to the 90 th percentile
values.

140

120
Modulus of Ruptrure (MPa)

100 Green
Air-dried

80

60

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percentile

Fig 1 Normalized frequency of bending strength at green and air-dried conditions

120

Green
100
Air-dried
Tensile Strength (MPa)

80

60

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percentile

Fig 2 Normalized frequency of tensile strength at green and air-dried conditions

It was calculated that the values of modulus of rupture at the 5th percentile were 48.84 MPa and 58.01
MPa at green and air-dried conditions respectively. This showed that there were 18.78% different
between green and air-dried at the 5th percentile values. The values for the tensile strength at the 5th
percentile were 42.49 MPa and 53.59 MPa at both conditions respectively. This showed an increase of
26.12%.
3.4 Relationship between Small Clear and Full Size Structural Specimens in Bending
The coefficient of correlation between small clear and full size structural specimens of bending strength
tested both at green and air-dried conditions as shown in Figures 3 and 4, respectively. It was indicated
that their correlation was 0.56 and 0.55

160
Modulus of Rupture (Small ) (MPa)

140

120

100

80

60

40 y = 0.66x + 49.2
r = 0.56**
20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Modulus of Rupture (Structural) (MPa)

Fig 3 Relationship between small clear and full size structural specimens in bending strength at green condition

1 8 0

1 6 0
Modulus of Rupture (Small) (MPa)

1 4 0

1 2 0

1 0 0

8 0

6 0
y = 0.60x + 78.7
4 0 r = 0.55**

2 0

0
0 2 0 4 0 6 0 8 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 4 0

Modulus of Rupture (Structural) (MPa)

Fig 4 Relationship between small clear and full size structural specimens in bending strength at air-dried
condition

The results obviously showed that a weak correlation was found between small clear and structural size
timber in term of their modulus of rupture. The conclusion that could be deduced from this study was
that the strength values obtained from small clear wood specimens did not work well to be used to
correlate the strength of full size structural timber. The possible reason was that structural size samples
contain wood defects that could be the major factor affecting their correlation. The best way to express
their relationship is through the correction factors through strength ratio. It was calculated that the
ratios of almost defect-free structural size and small clear specimens of the species were 0.75 and 0.77
at green and air-dried conditions, respectively. The finding was consistent with the study conducted by
Alik and Nakai (1997a) using Dipterocarp species.
4. Conclusions
Based on the results of this study, the findings as follows :
i) D. beccarii was found to be the strongest and D. rappa the weakest in term of bending and
tensile strength.
ii) It was observed that their timber strength increased 17.14% for bending and 15.14% for tensile
respectively from green to air-dried condition.
iii) The rate of change found to be 1.50% and 1.32% in bending and tensile strength, respectively
for every 1% changes of moisture below fibre saturation point.
iv) Based on their density, the timber species could be classified under medium heavy hardwood.
v) The bending strength ratio was 0.75 and 0.77 with respect to almost defect free full size
structural timber and defect free small clear specimens
vi) Weak correlation were observed between the strength of small clear and full size structural
specimens

5. Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express their sincere gratitude and appreciation to Associate Professor Dr. Mohd
Ariff Jamaludin of University of Technology Mara (UiTM) and Dr. Takashi Nakai of ex-staff of
FFPRI, Tsukuba, Japan for their suggestion and comments. The authors like to acknowledge to Andrew
Nyorik Nibu, Nungah Liang, Aini Siri and Yeo Hui Choo of Sarawak Forestry Corporation for
assisting preparation and assisting in sample testing.

6. References
[1] Alik, D., and Nakai, T. 1997a. Preliminary Study for Structural Grading Based on Full Size
Bending Test of Resak durian and Keruing utap of Sarawak. Proceedings of the International
Tropical Wood Conference, Kuala Lumpur. June 17-20, pp.252 –260.

[2] Alik, D., and Nakai, T. 1997b. Effect of Moisture Content on Bending Properties of Wood
Proceedings of the TRTTC/JICA Research Seminar 97. Kuching. pp.138-144.

[3] Anon., 1957. Methods of Testing Small Clear Specimens of Timber. British Standard Institution.
BS 373 : 1957. 31 pp.

[4] Anon., 1979. Methods of Test for Determination of Certain Physical and Mechanical Properties of
Timber in Structural Sizes. British Standard Institution. BS 5820 : 1979. 6 pp.

[5] Anon., 1984. The Malaysian Grading Rules for Sawn Hardwood Timber. 1984 Edition. Ministry of
Primary Industry. Malaysia. 109 pp.

[6] Mamit, J. D. 1987. Utilisation of Timber for Housing Construction in Sarawak. TRTTC Technical
Report No. TR/11. Forest Department Sarawak. 30 pp.