Treesearch

Over the past decade, several large-scale fire tests have been conducted by research teams across the world to evaluate the fire performance of mass timber structures to support the adoption of larger and taller mass timber structures. However, the tests conducted to date have a mobile fuel load of 680 MJ/m² or less. Additionally, the mobile fuel load used was often cellulose-based and made of either wood furniture or wood cribs. The WOODWISE project aims to enhance the understanding of fire dynamics in mass timber structures with the inclusion of modern mobile fuels and higher fuel loads....

The influence on fire growth from varying the amount of exposed timber at both the wall and ceiling has been studied through completion of room-scale fire tests, utilizing test standard NFPA 286, Fire Tests for Evaluating Contribution of Wall and Ceiling lnterior Finish to Room Fire Growth. Three tests were completed that had exposed timber consistent with the 2021 International Building Code (IBC). To understand the impacts on early fire growth conditions, four additional tests with exposed timber at the ceiling consisting of 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% of the floor area, were conducted....

In the United States, timber is a common building material in low and medium-rise construction, up to 25.9m (85ft). Through research and innovation, code changes were enacted in 2021 that eliminated barriers to high-rise mass timber buildings. However, some stakeholders have observed that major technical barriers remain. Specifically, the structural performance of timber during all phases of a fire and resulting emissions from buildings using combustible construction. This paper summarizes a multi-disciplinary research program designed to address the challenges in a holistic and systematic...

Moisture- and orientation-dependent mechanical properties of the S2 secondary cell wall layer are needed to better understand wood mechanical properties and advance wood utilization. In this work, nanoindentation was used to assess the orientation-dependent elastic moduli and Meyer hardness of the loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) S2 layer under environmental conditions ranging from 0% to 94% relative humidity (RH). The elastic moduli were fit to a theoretical transverse isotropic elasticity model to calculate the longitudinal elastic modulus, transverse elastic modulus, axial shear modulus, and...

In the United States, charcoal is widely used for recreational purposes, particularly as fuel for outdoor grilling. Unknown to many consumers, charcoal production has profound environmental impacts worldwide and is too often linked to deforestation and illegal activities involving fraud and misrepresentation in the forest products supply chain. At present, the reliability of the US charcoal market is largely unknown. For 15 lump charcoal brands in the US commercial market, we evaluated the taxonomic composition, claims of origin, bag weight, and lump size. All 15 brands analyzed exhibited...

The use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) has become more popular, with many advances stemming from research and construction projects in Europe. CLT has been utilized in vertical construction projects where many inherent features have been maximized. CLT is prefabricated, relatively lightweight, dimensionally stable, and sustainable. Despite these advances, the use of CLT in bridge structures has been limited, and the adoption of CLT into governing bridge design codes has been slow in North America. Results of laboratory investigation assessing the feasibility of CLT as a primary structural...

This study quantifies the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission profiles of various forest residue utilization alternatives through a cradle-to-grave Life cycle assessment (LCA). Unlike previous studies which were limited in scope, focusing mainly on energy use of residues, there is need for comparative assessments of different alternatives with wider scope. This study compares cradle-to-grave GHG emissions associated with utilizing forest residues for six energy and non-energy applications: electricity, briquettes, sustainable aviation fuel, particleboard, biochar, and mulch. These options of...

Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) panels have been primarily developed for the building industry. But there have been few instances where CLT panels have been used for bridge deck applications in North America. CLT is prefabricated, lightweight, dimensionally stable, and environmentally sustainable. The use of CLT in bridge structures has been limited and the adoption of CLT into governing bridge design codes has been slow-going in North America. The objective of this project was to investigate the feasibility of CLT as a primary structural material for highway bridge deck applications. To...

Dimensional tolerances of mass timber construction typically result in small gaps between mass timber panels. The Fire Design Specification prescribes that when gaps within elements exceed 3 mm the mass timber within the gap must be treated as fully fire-exposed surfaces. Therefore, many of these gaps must be filled with fire protection material. However, the process of protecting these gaps is time consuming and costly. To evaluate the influence of gaps on fire dynamics and char propagation, the authors performed a series of experiments on cross laminated timber panel- to-panel connections...

In the late 2010s, the Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) of the Ghana Forestry Commission sought to acquire International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 17020:2012 accreditation. To meet the standard’s requirements, the TIDD, in cooperation with the US Department of Agriculture Forest Products Laboratory, published a standardized wood identification field manual entitled Field Identification Manual for Ghanaian Timbers. To increase the accessibility and utility of this resource for inspectors in the field, this study transforme...