Bending strength of local trees

Abstract

Singapore, being a green city, has a significant number of trees planted all around Singapore. Over the years, there are many cases of fallen trees due to sudden changes in weather causing detrimental damages to people and its surroundings. This report studies the bending resistance of three common species of trees planted all over Singapore. They are namely, Chengal Pasir (Hopea Odorata), Rain Tree (Samanea Saman) and Senegal Mahogahy (Khaya Senegalensis). Chengal Pasir (Hopea Odorata) trees were acquired from two different sites, Kampong Bugis and along Nicoll Highway while Rain Tree (Samanea Saman) and Senegal Mahogany (Khaya Senegalensis) trees were obtained along Nicoll Highway. Four-point bending test was conducted on these three tree species to assess the greenwood properties, such as modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, maximum shear stress, moisture content, and density. A total of 16 tree trunks and branches, and 12 pieces of timber sawn from the tree trunks were tested. Correlations were found between modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity and maximum shear stress. Results of greenwood properties were compared to other similar tree species, species of the same family, and assessed for the bending resistance against wind.