Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Outputs (30)

Hardwoods in the United Kingdom Considerations When Looking to Future Planting and Future Value Chains (2024)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Ridley-Ellis, D., & Cramer, M. (2024, September). Hardwoods in the United Kingdom Considerations When Looking to Future Planting and Future Value Chains. Presented at International Scientific Conference on Hardwood Processing, Coimbra, Portugal

Reasons for increasing the diversity of the tree species providing wood for the value chain include: improving forest resilience to climate change; mitigating the risks of pests and pathogens; and improving other important functions of forests such a... Read More about Hardwoods in the United Kingdom Considerations When Looking to Future Planting and Future Value Chains.

A proposed standardization framework for recovered timber strength grading (2024)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Llana, D. F., Ridley-Ellis, D., Turk, G., & Íñiguez-González, G. (2024, June). A proposed standardization framework for recovered timber strength grading. Presented at III Congreso Ibero-Latinoamericano MAD de la Madera en la Construcción (CIMAD 24) : Libro de Actas de Resúmenes Extendidos, Madrid

An increasing quantity of wood is recovered from demolitions, presenting opportunities for enhanced value through reusing or recycling in structural uses. Prior to utilizing timber for structural applications, it is essential to subject it to a gradi... Read More about A proposed standardization framework for recovered timber strength grading.

Compression strength perpendicular to grain in hardwoods depending on test method (2024)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Cramer, M. (2024, May). Compression strength perpendicular to grain in hardwoods depending on test method. Presented at 11th Hardwood Conference, Sopron, Hungary

Compression strength perpendicular to grain is an important timber property that governs the bearing strength of beams and might influence connection design. According to modern standards, the design value for compression strength is determined accor... Read More about Compression strength perpendicular to grain in hardwoods depending on test method.

BM TRADA Webinar Part 2: Machine Strength Grading (2024)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2024, April). BM TRADA Webinar Part 2: Machine Strength Grading. Presented at BM TRADA Technical Timber Webinars 2024, Online

Strength grading of solid timber – overcoming some common misconceptions.

Slides covering machine strength grading, stamps, and EN1912 revision

The Challenge of Strength Grading UK Hardwoods (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Cramer, M. (2023, November). The Challenge of Strength Grading UK Hardwoods. Presented at ICWSE 2023, Brașov, Romania

Recent research in Europe is bringing a wider range of wood species to the construction market as structural timber and glue laminated products. This option would also open markets for currently underused UK species, foremost hardwoods, but testing e... Read More about The Challenge of Strength Grading UK Hardwoods.

Wood properties and strength grading (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2023, February). Wood properties and strength grading. Presented at ICF South Scotland CPD event

Slides from a CPD event organised for the Chartered Institute of Foresters South Scotland Regional Group - providing an opportunity for tree professionals to learn more about timber strength grading, and the influence silviculture has on wood propert... Read More about Wood properties and strength grading.

Wood properties & strength grading (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2022, December). Wood properties & strength grading. Presented at James Jones & Sons Architects' and Structural Engineers' Open Day, Lockerbie

James Jones & Sons held an open day for architects and structural engineers at its flagship sawmill site in Lockerbie.

"James Jones & Sons' new visitor building at its flagship sawmill site in Lockerbie has attracted considerable interest in the... Read More about Wood properties & strength grading.

The assessment of the mechanical and physical properties of in situ timber (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Bather, M., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2022, September). The assessment of the mechanical and physical properties of in situ timber. Paper presented at Northern European Network for Wood Science and Engineering (WSE) 2022, Goettingen, Germany

The refurbishment of existing buildings is a more sustainable option than demolition and reconstruction, leading to significant reductions in CO2 emissions and many other benefits. Policy across Europe is leaning more towards retaining and upgrading... Read More about The assessment of the mechanical and physical properties of in situ timber.

Can you guess the strength of timber? How (your) wood quality perceptions relate to reality (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Cramer, M., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2022, September). Can you guess the strength of timber? How (your) wood quality perceptions relate to reality. Paper presented at Northern European Network for Wood Science and Engineering (WSE) 2022, Goettingen, Germany

UK-grown timber is often perceived to have “low quality”, and most of the UK’s sawn timber is used for fencing and packaging material. Much of the resource could be used as construction timber, as UK spruce and other softwoods can be strength graded... Read More about Can you guess the strength of timber? How (your) wood quality perceptions relate to reality.

A little about the verification of a lot (EN 14358) (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2022, September). A little about the verification of a lot (EN 14358). Paper presented at Northern European Network for Wood Science and Engineering (WSE) 2022, Goettingen, Germany

Sometimes it is necessary to estimate the mean and/or percentile of a certain population by limited sampling, in order to compare with target values. Done properly, the method should account for random chance in the sampling so that the two risks can... Read More about A little about the verification of a lot (EN 14358).

Test Machine Effect in the determination of modulus of elasticity for strength-graded timber (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Gil-Moreno, D., Ridley-Ellis, D., & Harte, A. M. (2021, August). Test Machine Effect in the determination of modulus of elasticity for strength-graded timber. Presented at WCTE 2021: World Conference on Timber Engineering, Santiago, Chile [Online]

This paper investigates if the relationship between the global and local moduli of elasticity (MoE), measured in bending tests, is affected by the test machines employed, and how that may influence strength grading. The ultimate aim is to study the p... Read More about Test Machine Effect in the determination of modulus of elasticity for strength-graded timber.

A case study of timber demolition recycling in the UK (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Cramer, M., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2020, December). A case study of timber demolition recycling in the UK. Presented at Northern European Network for Wood Science and Engineering – WSE2020, Online (Helsinki)

A brief look at alternative species in the UK (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Adams, S. H., & Ridley-Ellis, D. J. (2020, December). A brief look at alternative species in the UK. Presented at Northern European Network for Wood Science and Engineering – WSE2020, Online (Helsinki)

Some awkward questions about density (2020)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Ridley-Ellis, D., & Cramer, M. (2020, September). Some awkward questions about density. Presented at Timber 2020, Online

There are several different concepts of wood density, such as specific gravity, basic density, dry density, and oven dry density. These are often confusing, and sometimes poorly described in the literature, but they can be unambiguously defined and m... Read More about Some awkward questions about density.

A Shed Resource: A look at Wood Recycling in the UK (2020)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Cramer, M., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2020, September). A Shed Resource: A look at Wood Recycling in the UK. Paper presented at Timber 2020, Online

The secondary timber value chain was explored by interviewing companies involved in wood recycling. The interviewees include community wood recyclers, chip producers and board-making companies. This paper is a perspective of the wood recycling indust... Read More about A Shed Resource: A look at Wood Recycling in the UK.

Influence of knot area indexes on tension strength of Sitka spruce (2019)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Gil-Moreno, D., Ridley-Ellis, D., & Harte, A. M. (2019, September). Influence of knot area indexes on tension strength of Sitka spruce. Presented at 15th Annual Meeting of the Northern European Network for Wood Science and Engineering, Lund, Sweden

It is well known that knots can reduce the strength of timber, and the selection of “critical section” for testing to EN 408 and EN 384 is typically based on the size and position of knots. In Ireland, the visual strength grading Standard IS 127 spec... Read More about Influence of knot area indexes on tension strength of Sitka spruce.

Grading of British spruce cladding battens by ring width for density, fastener performance and fire (2019)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2019, October). Grading of British spruce cladding battens by ring width for density, fastener performance and fire. Presented at 15th Annual Meeting of the Northern European Network for Wood Science and Engineering, Lund, Sweden

The UK has a British Standard for external timber cladding, BS8605-1, in which support battens are defined as timber components of a section, grade, and durability, suitable for supporting external timber cladding. The term includes both battens (whi... Read More about Grading of British spruce cladding battens by ring width for density, fastener performance and fire.

Quantification of chemical changes taking place in spruce wood structure following long period thermal treatment (2019)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Popescu, C., Ridley-Ellis, D., & Popescu, M. (2019, August). Quantification of chemical changes taking place in spruce wood structure following long period thermal treatment. Paper presented at 2DCOS-10, The 10th International Symposium on Two-dimensional Correlation Spectroscopy, Changchun, China

Wood is a natural composite polymer containing different amounts of cellulose, lignin and hemicelluloses and some other low molecular compounds (i.e. extractives). Due to its structure wood is susceptible to degradation in the surrounding environment... Read More about Quantification of chemical changes taking place in spruce wood structure following long period thermal treatment.

Some thresholds for grading British grown spruce to optimised strength classes using longitudinal resonance (2018)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Ridley-Ellis, D., Adams, S., & Lehneke, S. (2018, August). Some thresholds for grading British grown spruce to optimised strength classes using longitudinal resonance. Presented at World Conference on Timber Engineering, Seoul, Republic of Korea

The main commercial species in the UK and Ireland is Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), which is graded in combination with a small amount of Norway spruce (P. abies). It is typically graded to the European strength class C16, but actually has superior... Read More about Some thresholds for grading British grown spruce to optimised strength classes using longitudinal resonance.

The daily cycle of moisture content expansion and contraction in UK-grown Sitka spruce trees (2018)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Adams, S., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2018, June). The daily cycle of moisture content expansion and contraction in UK-grown Sitka spruce trees. Paper presented at Timber 2018

The diameter of five dominant Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) trees at Griffin Forest (near Aberfeldy, Scotland) were monitored at two minute intervals with dendrometers between April 2008 and October 2012. This experiment was designed to investigate... Read More about The daily cycle of moisture content expansion and contraction in UK-grown Sitka spruce trees.