Wood engineering design

Wood engineering design

The process of creating products, components, and structural systems with wood and wood-based materials. Wood engineering design applies concepts of engineering in the design of systems and products that must carry loads and perform in a safe and serviceable fashion. Examples include structural systems such as buildings or electric power transmission structures, components such as trusses or prefabricated stressed-skin panels, and products such as furniture or pallets and containers. The design process considers the shape, size, physical and mechanical properties of the materials, type and size of the connections, and the type of system response needed to resist both stationary and moving (dynamic) loads and to function satisfactorily in the end-use environment. See Engineering design, Structural design

Wood is used in both light frame structures and heavy timber structures. Light frame structures consist of many relatively small wood elements such as lumber covered with a sheathing material such as plywood. The lumber and sheathing are connected to act together as a system in resisting loads; an example is a residential house wood floor system where the plywood is nailed to lumber bending members or joists. In this system, no one joist is heavily loaded because the sheathing spreads the load out over many joists. Service factors such as deflections or vibration often govern the design of floor systems rather than strength. Light frame systems are often designed as diaphragms or shear walls to resist lateral forces resulting from wind or earthquake. See Floor construction

In heavy timber construction, such as bridges or industrial buildings, there is less reliance on system action and, in general, large beams or columns carry more load transmitted through decking or panel assemblies. Strength, rather than deflection, often governs the selection of member size and connections. There are many variants of wood construction using poles, wood shells, folded plates, prefabricated panels, logs, and combinations with other materials. See Wood products