The wood material presents an increasing use for structural engineering
applications in buildings and other specials engineering production. To assess
safety rules, this type of elements should have sufficient mechanical resistance to
guarantee the design loads. Wood is a natural material and is submitted to many
constantly changing influences. The high wood vulnerability, due accidental
conditions, requires rigorous thermal and mechanical assessment. The
combustion and the chemical phenomena occurred in wood during an accidental
situation of elevated temperature is a complex study issue. When wood
structures are exposed to high temperatures, the burned wood becomes a char
layer which loses all strength but insulating temperature rise in the core of
material. The charring rate is more or less constant and mainly depends on the
density and moisture content wood properties. Safety rules and guidelines should
be useful for different wood applications. The fire safety of this type of material
involves prevention, inhibition, detection and evacuation. This involves
appropriate design rules, installation, construction and maintenance of the wood
material applications. This paper proposes an experimental and a numerical
method for charring rate determination in pine wood. Different pine sections will
be tested and submitted to high temperatures using a heating power unit based on
electrical resistances. The temperature results will be measured through wood
profile during time heating exposure. Using appropriated material properties and
boundary conditions, reasonable predictions of charring layer with a finite
element analysis method, can be provided. The thermal response obtained with
the finite element formulation will be compared with experimental results, in
several series of wood pine profiles. Char layer thickness will be determined
