Abstract: “This work analyzed the plastic and elastic properties of some Nigerian timber as a structural material. Charpy impact test method was used to determine the impact energy/toughness of twenty locally available timber species, comprising of ten hardwoods and ten softwoods. Three sets of specimen (having dimension 125 mm by 12.5 mm by 12.5 mm)were obtained from each of the timber species.The first set had grain angle parallel to the longitudinal axis of the specimen, the second set had grain perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the specimen and the third had grain at an angle of 45 degree to the longitudinal axis of the specimen. The toughness energies of the materials were observed to vary as the angle of the grain varied. The toughness energies of the materials were observed to vary as the angle of the grain varied, with the maximum strength obtained when the grain orientation was parallel to the axis of the tree trunk. The toughness energy obtained for the different softwood specie”

Keywords: Charpy, Energy, Impact Test, Timber, Toughness , Steel