Design of Structural Elements with Tropical Hardwoods

This book provides basic information on the design of structures with tropical woods. It is intended primarily for teaching university- and college-level courses in structural design. It is also suitable as a reference material for practitioners. Although parts of the background material relate specifically to West and East Africa, the design principles apply to the whole of tropical Africa, Latin America and South Asia. The book is laced with ample illustrations including photographs of real life wood structures and structural elements across Africa that make for interesting reading. It has numerous manual and Excel spread sheet worked examples and review questions that can properly guide a first-time designer of wooden structural elements. A number of design problems are also solved using the FORTRAN programming language. Topics covered in the thirteen chapters of the book include a brief introduction to the book, the anatomy and physical properties of tropical woods; a bri

Anatomy and Physical Properties of Tropical Woods.- Mechanical Properties of Wood .- Timber Seasoning and Preservation.- Uses of Wood and Wood Products in Construction.- A Review of Basic Theory of Structures.- Structural Load Computations.- Design of Wooden Beams.- Design of Solid Wooden Columns.- Design of Built-Up Columns.- Design of Wood Connections.- Design of Wooden Trusses.- Wooden Bridges.