Collection contains recent scholarly output of student majors in the Wood Science and Engineering (WSE) Department http://hdl.handle.net/1957/7820 2013-05-21T08:58:19Z 2013-05-21T08:58:19Z Burnard, Michael D. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/36505 2013-01-31T00:12:45Z 2012-10-23T00:00:00Z

Key factors influencing checking in maple veneered decorative hardwood plywood Burnard, Michael D. Face checking in decorative maple veneered plywood panels is a significant problem for hardwood plywood manufacturers, furniture makers, cabinetmakers, and consumers. Efforts made by panel producers and researchers to minimize checking conducted to-­‐date have been limited, and produced contradictory results. In this study the impact of four manufacturing factors believed to contribute to check development in decorative maple veneer panels were determined. The factors investigated were face veneer thickness and preparation, lathe-­‐check orientation, adhesive and core type. An efficient, automated, optical technique based on digital image correlation principles was developed and used to detect and measure checks as they develop. The novel new method for characterizing check severity and development was effective in efficiently measuring checking for a substantial number of samples. The results of the factor screening analysis reveal intricate four way interactions between factor levels contribute to check development, and that some combinations are likely to exhibit much more checking than others. Graduation date: 2013

2012-10-23T00:00:00Z Scouse, Adam A. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/34327 2012-10-10T20:01:15Z 2012-09-13T00:00:00Z

Essential oil treatment of VTC wood Scouse, Adam A. Western juniper and cinnamon essential oils were combined with ethanol at 2.5, 5, and 10% concentrations by weight and applied to hybrid poplar (Populus trichocarpa x P. deltoids) veneers by vacuum soaking to produce a naturally durable wood veneer with increased mechanical properties for use in structural composites. Half of these veneers were then modified using viscoelastic thermal compression to increase veneer density and modulus of elasticity. Following densification, unprocessed and VTC processed veneers receiving an essential oil treatment were subjected to an AWPA E21-06 Formosan termite exposure test, AWPA E24-06 mold box test, and brown rot (Gloeophyllum trabeum) decay bending test. While VTC processing drastically reduced the abundance of chemical components inherent within essential oil treatments, veneer specimens without VTC processing showed increased durability. A 10% juniper oil treatment drastically reduced Formosan termite attack on hybrid poplar veneers while a 10% cinnamon oil treatment significantly reduced mold growth. Timbor®, an industrial powdered borate treatment, withstood VTC processing and inhibited Formosan termite attack and mold growth. Tests to evaluate the effectiveness of essential oil treatments against brown rot were unsuccessful. Results suggest that incorporating a disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT) treatment prior to VTC processing could help improve VTC wood durability. Graduation date: 2013

2012-09-13T00:00:00Z Pfretzschner, Kathryn S. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/34042 2012-10-02T14:57:21Z 2012-09-05T00:00:00Z

Practical modeling for load paths in a realistic, light-frame wood house Pfretzschner, Kathryn S. The objective of this study was to develop and validate practical modeling methods for investigating load paths and system behavior in a realistic, light-frame wood structure. The modeling methods were validated against full-scale tests on subassemblies and an L-shaped house. The model of the L-shaped house was then modified and used to investigate the effects of re-entrant corners, wall openings and gable-end retrofits on system behavior and load paths. Results from this study showed that the effects of adding re-entrant corners and wall openings on uplift load distributions were dependent on the orientation of the trusses with respect to the walls. Openings added to walls parallel to the trusses had the least effect on loads carried by the remaining walls in the building. Varying re-entrant corner dimensions of the L-shaped house under ASCE 7-05 (ASCE 2005) design wind loads caused increasing degrees of torsion throughout the house, depending on the relative location and stiffness of the in-plane walls (parallel to the applied wind loads) as well as the assumed direction of the wind loads. Balancing the stiffness of the walls on either side of the house with the largest re-entrant corner helped to decrease torsion in the structure somewhat. Finally, although previous full-scale tests on gable-end sections verified the effectiveness of the gable-end retrofit that was recently adopted into the 2010 Florida building code, questions remained about the effects of the retrofit on torsion in a full building. The current study found that adding the gable-end retrofits to the L-shaped house did not cause additional torsion. Graduation date: 2013

2012-09-05T00:00:00Z Hamner, Rebecca Anne http://hdl.handle.net/1957/33663 2012-09-19T20:28:36Z 2012-09-07T00:00:00Z

Identifying the relevance of "family forest" wood product origin and environmental certification for Oregon consumers, and specifiers and industrial customers Hamner, Rebecca Anne The wood products industry is influenced heavily by family ownership along the entire value chain. Although family ownership affects each link of the wood products value chain, there has been little research into the importance of products originating from family forestland. Specific attributes of products, such as origin or environmental certification, have been considered part of a business’s marketing strategies. This study evaluates the relevance of family forest wood product origin and environmental certification for Oregon consumers who participated in this study and Oregon specifiers and industrial customers. Data was collected from consumers, and specifiers and industrial customers in Oregon. Conjoint analysis was employed with softwood lumber as the product and price, wood origin, and environmental certification as the features. Results from this analysis for consumers show that wood origin is the most important factor followed by price and environmental certification. However, for specifiers and industrial customers, price is the most important factor followed by environmental certification and wood origin. "Family" is seen as the most preferred wood origin level for both buyer groups in the study. Graduation date: 2013

2012-09-07T00:00:00Z