SAPIN - ABIES - PECTRINATA - ABIES ALBA  

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Fir - Silver Fir
Tanne - Weisstane
Abete
Abete comun - Pinabete

  ANATOMY  

Absence of resinous canals
Timber a yellow-white or pink colour, matte appearance
No distinction between sapwood and heartwood
The growth rings are clearly visible and form a marked veining.

  DURABILITY  

Fir is a timber termed "non durable", it offers little natural resistance to attack by fungi and insects.
It is essential to treat framework timber with an insecticide and fungicide product to give it a protection of treatment type risk class 2.

  DENSITY  

this is dependent on the source and the growth conditions

  Density at 15 % moisture content (kg/m3)
  Majority of the timber Limit value according to source
Fir 450 - 550 kg/m3 350 - 600 kg/m3

  SHRINKAGE  

The retractability coefficient gives, as a percentage, the dimensional variation for a variation of one per cent of moisture content.

  Tangential coefficient of retractability
Radial coefficient of retractability
Unit volume coefficient of retractability
  (t) in % (r) in % (v) in %
Fir 0.25 to 0.35 0.10 to 0.15 0.35 to 0.45

  THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY  

This is the heat flow per m2 through one metre of thickness of the material, for a difference of one degree between the two faces of the material.

  Density
in kg/m3
Thermal conductivity
in W/m°C
  350 to 500 0.12
Fir 500 to 600 0.15

  ACOUSTIC BEHAVIOUR  

The speed of propagation of sound in the timber at 15% moisture content

    Propagation of sound in m/sec
Fir longitudinally 4,700 to 5,000
transversally 1,000 to 1,100

  BEHAVIOUR TO FIRE  

Classification of materials
M0 = incombustible
M1 = not flammable
M2 = burns with difficulty
M3 = average flammability
M4 = burns easily
M5 = highly inflammable

Fir:
thickness greater than / equal to 18 mm = class M3
thickness less than 18 mm = class M4

  MECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS  

Visual classification:
ST - III: type of use - traditional framework
ST - II: type of use - industrial framework, truss

Timber at a moisture content of 12%

Strength properties:

  ST-III ST-II
Bending 8.0 Mpa 10.5 Mpa
Compression parallel 8.0 Mpa 9.0 Mpa
Tension parallel 5.0 Mpa 6.0 Mpa
Longitudinal shear 0.8 Mpa 1.1 Mpa
Perpendicular compression 2.0 Mpa 2.3 Mpa
Perpendicular tension 0.15 Mpa 0.15 Mpa

Conventional deformation modulus:

  ST-III ST-II
Shear 550 Mpa 690 Mpa
Longitudinal, shear force included 10,000 Mpa 11,000 Mpa
1 Mpa = 1 MegaPascal
1 Mpa = approx. 10 kg/cm²