Abstract
THE research work carried out on Indian timber stresses is described in Leaflet No. 13 of the Utilisation Branch of the Indian Forest Research Institute. The engineer requires to have a fairly definite knowledge of the strength properties of all building materials. In tropical countries it is not unnatural that timber for constructional purposes should have been regarded with doubt by all engineers. Its non-homogeneous character, defects such as knots, liability to split and warp and vulnerability to the white ant or termite, borer and fungi have all played their part in this suspicion. Steel and concrete have in modern times, therefore, been preferred. In the leaflet, as the result of research investigations, some of the common Indian structural timbers are classified into three grades, depending on the incidence of defects, and safe working stresses are given for them. It is stated that as some common defects are always present in ordinary structural timber, Grade No. 2 containing defects as specified in the leaflet has been taken as the “Standard Structural Grade” and the table at end of the leaflet gives the safe stresses for this grade. Allowance for defects has been made in computing these stresses. Mr. V. D. Limaye, the author of the leaflet, says: “By making use of this Table engineers will be able to utilize the timber listed with the same confidence, safety and economy as when they use other materials of construction such as steel”. Working stresses for thirty-five common Indian timbers are given, with the trade and botanical names of the tree, for which the leaflet should be consulted.
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Working Stresses for Indian Timbers. Nature 150, 571 (1942). https://doi.org/10.1038/150571c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/150571c0