Impact of Growth Characteristics on Properties of 2 by 8 Southern Yellow Pine Structural Lumber

Southern pine is one of the most important softwood resources in the United States, and the majority of southern pine is for lumber production, more specifically for construction. The lumber used for construction is required to meet strength-specifications as a method of ensuring the strength values within different classes. Most of the southern pine lumber is visually graded, which is based on knot, slope of grain, and wane. However, the presence of pith is not included in the visual grading system. The presence of pith indicates presence of juvenile wood, which has a negative effect on mechanical properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of pith on rings per inch, percentage of latewood, modulus of elasticity (MOE), and modulus of rupture (MOR) in 292 samples of southern pine No. 2 2 by 8 lumber. Lumber without pith had significantly greater MOE (11.1 vs. 10.0 GPa), MOR (39.7 vs. 36.4 MPa), and specific gravity (12% moisture content [MC]; 0.55 vs. 0.52) than did lumber with pith. The results show that the presence of pith is an important factor that can improve lumber grading, and it could be included in the visual grade system.