Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair

Indrajit Ray

Committee Co-Chair

An Chen.

Abstract

Wood I-joists are highly efficient, lightweight structural members used for long span applications. However, because of the high strength to stiffness ratio and thin--walled nature of the web, buckling or sudden loss of stability is a primary concern. Recently at West Virginia University a new structural wood composite panel has been developed using discarded veneer-mill residues. These panels were manufactured with a sinusoidal geometry and used as web material in I-joists. The profiling of the web is designed to increase the buckling capacity of the joists.;This thesis is focused on the evaluation of the strength, stiffness, and stability of this composite wood I-joist with sinusoidal web. Joists were manufactured at two different depths and also with flat webs for comparison. An evaluation of the web in compression, lateral-torsional buckling of the joists, the rotational stiffness through torsion testing, and an evaluation of the joists in four point bending are presented. Finite element analysis was performed along with the experimental evaluations. The finite element predictions are compared with the experimental results.

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