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-...
The forest sector and the global financial crisis (GFC) provide a unique setting for investigating the relationships among market orientation, innovativeness and firm performance. While most of the extant literature suggests that market orientation helps a firm build its innovativeness, we suggest that in the production oriented forest sector, especially...
The potential for preservative migration from treated wood exposed in or above aquatic environments has become a major concern in some parts of the United States. Best management practices (BMP) were designed to decrease the potential environmental footprint of treated wood, but there are few studies assessing the efficacy of...
Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) has a reputation for being resistant to fungal attack, but much of the work to support this premise used older growth material (80-100 yr old). Given the tendency for the heartwood from the second growth of some species to be less durable, we evaluated the...
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...
Assessing the impact of fungal decay in wood structures poses a major challenge for building inspectors. Although models have been developed to predict degradation rate of building components in varying climatic conditions, most are hampered by the lack of fundamental data on effects of fungal attack on engineering properties. Developing...
The effect of supercritical fluid treatment on superficial gas permeability of Douglas-fir was investigated by using carbon dioxide either alone or amended with methanol. Permeability increased in a majority of samples, although nearly one-third of the specimens declined in permeability. Improvements in permeability appeared to be unrelated to variations in...
Adverse effects on mechanical properties from using a supercritical fluid (SCF) to increase preservative penetration of refractory woods were evaluated by treating small ponderosa pine sapwood specimens with supercritical carbon dioxide at 64 combinations of temperatures (35 to 80 C), pressure (1,000 to 4,000 psig), and time (0.5 to 2...
A new laboratory technique to simulate the initiation of wood decay and to assess the effects of incipient decay on material properties is described. Douglas-fir heartwood specimens were exposed to brown-rot (Postia placenta and Gloeophyllum trabeum) fungi for various periods. Bendlng properties were determined by nondestructive and destructive tests, and...
The effect of pretreatment of Douglas-fir flakes with CCA-C, borate, and azaconazole on properties of flakeboard was studied. Flakes had higher retention levels of CCA-C and borate in their ends than in their centers. The distribution of chemicals was uniform in panels, which indicates that the chemicals did not migrate...