The construction industry has relied heavily on wood and wood-based composites, such as oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood for timber frame construction. Therefore, it is highly imperative to categorize the response of wood-based composites when exposed to elevated temperatures for a sustained period of time. The essence of fire-resistant...
Wood and wood-based composites are being used extensively in single-family residential dwellings. Therefore, it is important to categorize their response when exposed to elevated temperatures for a sustained period of time. In fire-resistant design for wood structures, the main goal is to ensure that enough structural integrity is maintained, during...
Fracture toughness of wood and wood composites has traditionally been characterized by a stress intensity factor, an initiation strain energy release rate (G[subscript init]) or a total energy to fracture (G[subscript f]). These parameters provide incomplete fracture characterization for these materials because the toughness changes as the crack propagates. Thus...
Global sustainability goals have led to the development of the green building movement. The Green
Building Program, stemming from the movement, has had unprecedented success as it provides a quantifi able
metric to people’s efforts towards sustainable development. Sustainable development and green buildings are often
used interchangeably. Although, sustainable development...
To quantify the postpeak residual capacity and
to gain insights into the load transfer mechanism of a shear
wall, nail connection tests were performed on salvaged
connections after a monotonic shear wall test loaded up
to peak load. Experimental results reveal that there is a
loss of strength in most...
Wood I-joists are often left uncovered and exposed to the weather during construction, allowing the oriented strandboard and laminated veneer lumber in these systems to be adversely affected by water absorption. Manufacturers typically specify that these materials be protected from wetting, but this can be difficult in wetter climates. There...
Wood shear walls are the main lateral force-resisting system for wood-frame construction. Water intrusion and subsequent decay around connections can significantly impact shear wall behavior, but these problems are seldom studied. In this study, effects of water intrusion and fungal attack on shear wall capacity were examined using small-scale (610-...
Routine inspection of wood utility poles to detect internal decay involves drilling holes at or about the ground line. While these holes are useful for detecting internal decay, their presence raises concern among engineers about their potential effects on pole flexural properties. The effect of inspection holes on flexural properties...
The effect of grain angle (GA) on shear strength of Douglas-fir has been evaluated. Shear block specimens with a GA varying from 0 to 90° was loaded in the shear plane, resulting in failure mode transitioning from parallel to grain shear to rolling shear. As expected, shear strength decreased as...
Current compression perpendicular-to-grain (C-perpendicular to) design values for wood members are based on mean stress obtained from ASTM D143 specimen. The standard ASTM test with metal on wood bearing has limited applicability in modern construction assemblies with C-perpendicular to loading scenarios. Previous work has shown that end-bearing conditions and wood-on-wood...