Major thrusts of the research conducted in the lab are in the areas of Wood Engineering and Mechanics. Goals are to develop advanced testing, modeling/analysis techniques to design safe and efficient structures from renewable/wood materials. Specifically, in the last few years, research projects have been in the area of (1) behavior of wood-frame buildings and components under lateral loads and (2) mechanical properties/behavior of wood and wood-based composites.
Many graduate students have completed dual-major MS or PhD degrees in Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering) and Wood Science, working with faculty in both the Department of Wood Science and Engineering (WSE) and the School of Civil and Construction Engineering (CCE). Examples of recent research projects in the area of wood engineering involve:
- Improving performance of conventional wood-frame shear walls
- Performance of wood structures under lateral loads
- Mechanical and failure properties of structural wood-based composites after being subjected to high temperatures
- Modeling of load paths and system behavior in wood-framed residential structures
- Wave loading of wood frame structures
- Mechanical behavior of wood beams – location of neutral axis
- Cross-laminated Timber
- Effect of strand orientation on performance of oriented strand board
- Testing of full-size roof assemblies with varying pitch
- Rapid visual screening for seismic performance of residential wood structures with plan irregularity
Location
Richardson Hall
3180 SW Jefferson Way
Corvallis, Oregon 97331
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