On behalf of the Tanzanian housing construction company CPS, this master's thesis examines the mechanical properties of the Tanzanian pine species Pinus patula. In view of the global population growth and sustainable development of Tanzania, the planned buildings should predominantly be constructed from domestic wood resources [1]. However, local Tanzanian pine is currently used for informal construction such as furniture making or as firewood [2].
Therefore, the potential of the above-mentioned pine wood species for load-bearing purposes is examined in this master's thesis. The grade determining properties, such as strength, stiffness and density, are investigated according to EN 408 [3] on a total of 300 specimens from the Sao Hill Industries Ltd. plantation in Mufindi, Tanzania. The tensile and bending strength and stiffness in fiber direction are determined on 100 solid wood samples each. The remaining 100 specimens are assessed for the bending strength of finger-jointed connections. Based on the test results of the solid wood samples, grading into strength classes according to EN 338 [4] is carried out. In addition to the optimum grading according to EN 14081-2 [5], a total of five other grading methods are investigated. Visual grading is conducted according to the German grading standard DIN 4074-1 [6]. Mechanical grading is carried out on the basis of the dynamic modulus of elasticity. Finally, a comparison of the different strength profiles is made.
The test results basically confirmed the low mechanical and physical properties of Pinus patula from the literature. The average tensile strength of the solid wood samples is 14.1 N/mm2 and the average bending strength is 25.2 N/mm2. An average bending strength of 23.8 N/mm2 was found for the finger-jointed samples. Thus, compared to European pine wood (Pinus sylvestris), the investigated pine wood species shows limited potential for load-bearing purposes. In general, the highest yields in strength grading of Pinus patula are achieved by mechanical grading. Due to the immediate application of on-site grading and the high yields of machine grading, strength grading of Pinus patula according to the dynamic modulus of elasticity via the natural frequency, calculated by using a preset mean density, is recommended. The yield of such a machine system is, for example, 10% of the population in the tensile strength class T14. Additionally, the comparison of the strength profiles results an average ratio of f_(t,0,k)⁄f_(m,k) = 0.50 and is therefore comparable to the strength ratio of pine wood from Ireland and Great Britain.
The low mechanical properties of Pinus patula are mainly caused by the comparatively short rotation times, large knot areas and high-density fluctuations of the specimens. Further research should therefore address the question of how the potential of Pinus patula for load-bearing purposes can be improved.
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On behalf of the Tanzanian housing construction company CPS, this master's thesis examines the mechanical properties of the Tanzanian pine species Pinus patula. In view of the global population growth and sustainable development of Tanzania, the planned buildings should predominantly be constructed from domestic wood resources [1]. However, local Tanzanian pine is currently used for informal construction such as furniture making or as firewood [2].
Therefore, the potential of the above-mentione...
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