Physical properties and moisture relations of wood

The versatility of wood is demonstrated by a wide variety of products. This variety is a result of a spectrum of desirable physical characteristics or properties among the many species of wood. In many cases, more than one property of wood is important to the end product. For example, to select a wood species for a product, the value of appearance- type properties, such as texture, grain pattern, or color, may be evaluated against the influence of characteristics such as machinability, dimensional stability, or decay resistance. Wood exchanges moisture with air; the amount and direction of the exchange (gain or loss) depend on the relative humidity and temperature of the air and the current amount of water in the wood. This moisture relationship has an important influence on wood properties and performance. This chapter discusses the physical properties of most interest in the design of wood products. Some physical properties discussed and tabulated are influenced by species as well as variables like moisture content; other properties tend to be independent of species. The thoroughness of sampling and the degree of variability influence the confidence with which species-dependent properties are known. In this chapter, an effort is made to indicate either the general or specific nature of the properties tabulated. 1999 This article is in PDF format (file size: 507 kb). To download this article, right click on the link immediately below and choose "save target as". To view the article, left click the link immediately below.
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Physical properties and moisture relations of wood   (1999)

The versatility of wood is demonstrated by a wide variety of products. This variety is a result of a spectrum of desirable physical characteristics or properties among the many species of wood. In many cases, more than one property of wood is important to the end product. For example, to select a wood species for a product, the value of appearance- type properties, such as texture, grain pattern, or color, may be evaluated against the influence of characteristics such as machinability, dimensional stability, or decay resistance. Wood exchanges moisture with air; the amount and direction of the exchange (gain or loss) depend on the relative humidity and temperature of the air and the current amount of water in the wood. This moisture relationship has an important influence on wood properties and performance. This chapter discusses the physical properties of most interest in the design of wood products. Some physical properties discussed and tabulated are influenced by species as well as variables like moisture content; other properties tend to be independent of species. The thoroughness of sampling and the degree of variability influence the confidence with which species-dependent properties are known. In this chapter, an effort is made to indicate either the general or specific nature of the properties tabulated.

Author: Simpson, William; TenWolde, Anton

Source: Wood handbook : wood as an engineering material. Madison, WI : USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, 1999. General technical report FPL ; GTR-113: Pages 3.1-3.24

Citation: Simpson, William; TenWolde, Anton  1999.  Physical properties and moisture relations 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 3.1-3.24.