CE 51C – Timber Design

Problem Set 1

1.) A simply supported beam spanning 3m is made of two planks on top of the other respectively
with the following dimensions of 100x50mm and 100x75mm. The beam is subjected to a uniform
load of 5 kN/m on the whole span and a concentrated load of 10 kN at the midspan. Use Ew =
5000 MPa for both planks. Which of the following gives:
a.) the moment capacity (kN.m) of the lower plank?
b.) the flexural stress (MPa) of the upper plank?
c.) the radius of curvature of the whole plank?

2.) A cantilever beam, 50 mm wide by

150 mm high and 6 m long, carries a
load that varies uniformly from zero
at the free end to 1000 N/m at the
wall. Determine the following
a.) The magnitude and location of
the maximum flexural stress.
b.) The type and magnitude of the stress in a fiber 20 mm from the top of the beam at a section
2 m from the free end.
c.) Check if the structure is safe for deflection when E = 75 GPa and allowable deflection is
L/200.

3.) The 18-ft long floor beams in a building are simply

supported at their ends and carry a floor load of 0.6
lb/in2. If the beams have W10 × 30 sections with
section modulus of 32.4 in³, and considering E =
1.6x106 psi and b = d. Determine the following center-
line spacing (neglect own weight) using:
a.) allowable flexural stress of 18 ksi.
b.) allowable shearing stress of 3 ksi.
c.) allowable deflection of span/50.

4.) Timbers 12 inches by 12 inches, spaced 3 feet apart on centers, are driven into the ground and
act as cantilever beams to back-up the sheet piling of a coffer dam. Determine the maximum safe
height of water behind the dam if water weighs = 62.5 lb/ft3 and the following are considered:
a.) (fb)max = 1200 psi
b.) (fv)max = 300 psi
c.) max deflection = L/40.

5.) A square timber beam used as a railroad tie is supported by a uniformly distributed loads and
carries two uniformly distributed loads each totaling 48 kN as shown. Neglecting the weight of
the beam. Determine the following
 a.) Size of the section if the maximum
flexural stress is limited to 8 MPa.
b.) Size of the section if the maximum
shearing stress is limited to 2 MPa.
c.) Size of the section if the max deflection
is span/300.

6.) A timber beam in the figure is made from 80% stress-grade Antipolo wood with following
properties of:
Bending & Tension Parallel to Grade = 18.60 MPa
Modulus of Elasticity in Bending = 5.35 GPa
Compression Parallel to Grain = 10.80 GPa
Compression Perpendicular to Grain = 3.90 MPa
Shear Parallel to Grain = 2.06 MPa
Allowable deflection = span/360
Unit Weight of the material = 10.10 kN/m³
Check the following:
a.) safe against flexural stress
b.) safe against shearing stress
c.) safe against deflection

7.) The floor system of an apartment

building consists of a 100-mm-thick
reinforced concrete slab resting on three
steel floor beams, which in turn are
supported by two steel girders, as
shown in the figure. The areas of cross
section of the beams and the girders are
11,800 mm² and 21,000 mm²,
respectively. Determine the following:
a.) Dead load acting on the beam CD
b.) Dead load acting on the girder AE.
c.) If a 150-mm-thick brick wall, which
is 2.1 m high and 7.5 m long, bears directly on the top of beam CD. Determine the dead load
acting on beam CD

8.) A rectangular wooden beam has a span of 6 m. and carries a total uniform load of 25 kN/m
including its own weight. The beam is made up of 80% stress grade Apitong with allowable
stresses shown on table TM-6.
Allowable Stress for Apitong 80% Stress Grade:
Allowable bending - 16.5 MPa
Compression parallel to grain = 9.56 MPa
Compression perpendicular to grain = 2.20MPa
Shear parallel to grain = 1.73 MPa
Modulus of elasticity = 7310 MPa
Allowable deflection = L/240
b = h/2
Which of the following gives the smallest dimension when the:
a.) beam that will not exceed the allowable bending stress?
b.) beam that will not exceed the allowable shearing stress?
c.) that will not exceed the allowable deflection?
9.) A small dam of height h = 2.5 m is constructed of Steel beam
vertical wood beams, as shown in the figure TD- A Wood beam t
RE001. The wood beams, which have thickness t
= 75 mm are simply supported by horizontal t
Steel beam Wood beam
steel beams at A and B. Calculate the following:
a.) the maximum bending stress if the depth of
h
water is 2.0 m, in MPa.
b.) the maximum shear stress if the depth of d
water is 2.0 m, in MPa.
c.) the maximum depth of water if the B
allowable bending stress is 4.6 MPa, in m.
Side view Top view
Fig. TD-RE001

10.) A wooden beam having a span of 4 m. Is subjected to a uniform

load of 10 kN/m. lt has a triangular cross section having a base
width of 140 mm and an altitude of 300 mm. Neglecting the
weight of the beam. Which of the following gives:
a.) the section modulus of the beam?
b.) the flexural stress of the beam?
c.) the max. shearing stress developed on the beam?