Wood can absorb water as a liquid, if in contact with it, or as vapour from the surrounding atmosphere. Although wood can absorb other liquids and gases, water is the most important. Because of its hygroscopicity, wood, either as a part of the living tree or as a material, always contains moisture. (The terms water and moisture are used here without distinction.) Moisture affects all wood properties, but it should be noted that only moisture contained in cell walls is important; moisture in the cell cavities merely adds weight.

The amount of moisture held in cell walls varies from about 20 to 40 percent, but for practical purposes it is taken to be 30 percent (expressed as percentages of the oven-dry weight of wood). The theoretical point at which cell walls are completely saturated and cell cavities are empty is known as the fibre saturation point. Beyond this point, moisture goes into the cavities, and, when they are completely filled, the maximum moisture content that wood can hold is reached. This maximum, which depends mainly on density, can be very high. For example, a very light wood, such as balsa, can hold as much as 800 percent moisture, pine 250 percent, and beech 120 percent.

The moisture content of the wood of living trees varies from about 30 to 300 percent depending on species, position of the wood in the tree, and season of the year. When green wood is exposed to the atmosphere, its moisture content gradually decreases. Moisture in the cell cavities is lost first. In time, moisture content falls to levels ranging (for temperate-zone localities and under shelter) from about 6 to 25 percent (average 12 to 15 percent). Local conditions of air temperature and relative humidity dictate the final moisture level. Species and dimensions of wood have no practical influence on the final moisture level, although refractory species and wood of larger dimensions require more time to reach it. It is important to note, however, that, because of hygroscopicity, the moisture content of air-dry wood does not remain unchanged, even when the wood is kept under shelter. On the contrary, it is subject to continuous change, within certain limits, as a result of changing air temperature and relative humidity.

The moisture content of a sample of wood is calculated on the basis of its current and oven-dry weight. It also can be determined directly with portable electric moisture meters, which measure the change of electrical properties of wood as a function of changing moisture content.

Hygroscopicity is of primary importance because moisture in wood affects all wood properties. For example, moisture content can increase weight 100 percent or more, with consequent effects on transportation costs. Variation in moisture content causes wood to shrink or swell, altering its dimensions. Resistance to decay and insects is greatly affected. The working, gluing, and finishing of wood and its mechanical, thermal, and acoustic properties are all influenced by moisture content. Also affected are processing operations, such as drying, preservative treatment, and pulping.

Shrinkage and swelling

Wood undergoes dimensional changes when its moisture fluctuates below the fibre saturation point. Loss of moisture results in shrinkage, and gain in swelling. It is characteristic that these dimensional changes are anisotropic—different in axial, radial, and tangential directions. Average values for shrinkage are roughly 0.4 percent, 4 percent, and 8 percent, respectively. Shrinkage in volume averages 12 percent, but large variations are exhibited among species. These values refer to changes from green to oven-dry condition and are expressed in percentage of green dimensions. The differential shrinkage and swelling in different growth directions is attributed mainly to cell wall structure. The difference between axial and the two lateral (radial and tangential) directions can be explained on the basis of respective orientation of microfibrils in the layers of the secondary cell wall, but the reasons for the differences between radial and tangential directions are not well understood.

In general, the factors that affect shrinkage and swelling are moisture content, density, content of extractives, mechanical stresses, and abnormalities in wood structure. The amount of shrinkage or swelling that occurs is approximately proportional to the change in moisture content. The higher the density of wood, the greater is its shrinkage and swelling, because denser (heavier) woods contain more moisture in their cell walls. For example, at the same moisture content, say, 15 percent, 1 cubic metre of a wood having a density of 0.8 gram per cc contains 120 kg of water, whereas the same volume of a wood having a density of 0.4 gram per cc contains only 60 kg of water. Extractives reduce shrinkage and swelling because they occupy spaces within cell walls that otherwise could be taken by water. Mechanical stresses (compression or tension) may cause permanent deformation of wood cells, which in turn affects shrinkage and swelling. Finally, abnormal structure results in greater shrinkage longitudinally but less in radial and tangential directions; change in volume remains about the same.

Dimensional changes in wood caused by shrinkage and swelling can result in opening or tightening of joints, change of cross-sectional shape, warping, checking (formation of cracks), case-hardening (release of stresses in resawing or other machining, with consequent warping), honeycombing (internal checking), and collapse (distortion of cells, causing a corrugated appearance of the surface of lumber). Thus, the fact that wood shrinks and swells constitutes a great obstacle to its utilization.

Several methods are used to improve the dimensional stability of wood. They include mechanical modification (reconstruction into such products as plywood, particleboard, and fibreboard), application of water-repellent coatings (paint or varnish), bulking treatment (maintaining the wood in swollen condition by use of salts, sugars, polyethylene glycol, synthetic resins, or other substances), and other (thermal or chemical) treatments. Except for reconstructing into products and surface coating, however, other methods are experimental or sufficiently expensive to limit their application to specialty items. Coatings do not reduce the quantity of moisture the wood can hold, but they slow the exchange of moisture between wood and atmosphere and, therefore, reduce the magnitude of dimensional changes of the wood in use. Most dimensional problems are caused by the use of wood with excessive moisture content. Instead, at the time of use the wood should have a moisture content at the approximate midpoint of the expected range in a particular location. This practice minimizes moisture content changes and, therefore, the adverse effects of shrinkage and swelling.

Mechanical properties

The mechanical, or strength, properties of wood are measures of its ability to resist applied forces that might tend to change its shape and size. Resistance to such forces depends on their magnitude and manner of application and to various characteristics of the wood such as moisture content and density. It is important to note that wood has drastically different strength properties parallel to the grain (i.e., in the axial direction) than it does across the grain (in the transverse direction).

The mechanical properties of wood include strength in tension and compression (as measured in axial and transverse directions), shear, cleavage, hardness, static bending, and shock (impact bending and toughness). Respective tests determine stresses per unit of loaded area (at the elastic limit and maximum load) and other criteria of strength, such as the modulus of elasticity (a criterion of stiffness), the modulus of rupture (bending strength), and toughness. Tests are normally conducted with small, clear specimens, usually 2 × 2 cm or 2 × 2 inches in cross section. Laboratory data are analyzed to produce working values of stresses, which are made available for use by engineers and architects in designing wooden structures. Tests are sometimes conducted with structural components of actual size. Individual cells (tracheids and fibres) also are subject to testing, since their strength relates to the strength of products—paper, for example. (The testing of materials to ascertain their mechanical, thermal, electrical, and other properties is discussed in the article materials testing.)

Density is the best index of the strength of clear wood; higher density indicates greater strength. The strength of wood is also influenced by its moisture content when it fluctuates below the fibre saturation point. Generally, a decrease in moisture content is accompanied by an increase in most strength properties. Temperature and duration of loading also affect strength. In general, strength falls as temperature rises. Wood loaded permanently will support a smaller maximum load than that indicated by short-term laboratory tests. The most important strength-reducing factors are wood defects, such as knots, compression and tension wood, and grain deviations. Their adverse effect depends on the kind and extent of the defects, their position, and the manner in which the wood is loaded.

Defects constitute the basis for rules by which lumber and other wood products are visually graded. These rules set limits on sizes of defects and other wood characteristics that affect strength—for example, rate of growth, which is expressed as rings per centimetre or inch. Also available are nondestructive grading techniques based on vibration, sound transmission, and mechanics. The latter technique makes use of a correlation established between the modulus of rupture and the modulus of elasticity. This relationship allows the strength of a wooden member (e.g., a lumber board) to be determined with fair accuracy simply by passing it through a machine that applies a bending force. The less the deflection, the higher the predicted strength. Use of such machines in industry is still limited, however, and the main method remains the visual inspection of wood by skilled graders. Grading leads to more efficient utilization of wood and is essential in order to achieve adequate standards of safety in wooden structures. (Grading of hardwood and softwood lumber is discussed in the section Yield and grading.)