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The Big Erickas bridge was constructed during September 1992 in Baraga County, Michigan. The bridge is 72 ft long, 16 ft wide, and consists of three simple spans: two stress-laminated deck approach spans and a stress-laminated box center span. The bridge is unique in that it is one of the first known stress-laminated timber bridge applications to use Eastern Hemlock sawn lumber and a combination of stress-laminated decks and a stress-laminated box in a single bridge. Performance of the bridge was monitored for 35 months, beginning at the time of installation. Monitoring involved gathering...

The feasibility of utilizing cant-sawn hardwood lumber, which would not usually be desired for furniture manufacture, was studied for the manufacture of structural glued-laminated (glulam) timber. Two red maple beam combinations were evaluated: (1) a glulam combination designed with E-rated lumber in 25 percent of the outer laminations (top and bottom) and No. 3 grade lumber in 50 percent of the center laminations and (2) a wide-width glulam combination with laminations made from nominal 2- by 4- and 2- by 6-in. No. 2 grade lumber laid edge-to-edge having staggered end joints (termed 2 by...

This report presents a relational database with estimates of annual production capacity for all mill locations in the United States where paper, paperboard, or market pulp were produced from 1970 to 2000. Data for more than 500 separate mill locations are included in the database, with annual capacity data for each year from 1970 to 2000 (more than 17, 000 individual data records). Numeric code, company name, city, state, region, and local postal ZIP code are included in the database. Capacity estimates are given for each of 12 principal categories of paper or paperboard commodities as...

This paper summarizes a cooperative research program between the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), in Madison, Wisconsin, and Forintek Canada Corp. in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This research program provided detailed creep1rupture and some creep information for composite panel products. Commercially produced plywood, oriented strandboard (OSB), and minimally aligned waferboard were tested to identify nine mills (three for each product) that produced panels with a range of flexural creep performance. The three plywood, three OSB, and three waferboard products...

The Lake States of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin consist of 49.4 million hectares (122 million acres) of land, 19.8 million hectares (49 million acres) of which are forested, with 6% of those having been removed by law from timber production. Aspen (Populus tremuloides) is an important component of this resource. In recent years, a concern that the aspen cut will exceed its growth has surfaced. That is, Will the aspen supply be adequate to support the growing solid-wood, composite, and paper industries in the Lake States region? To satisfy the increased demand for forest products, it...

Recent research on the release of wood preservatives from treated wood used in sensitive environments has not considered the potential contribution from construction residues. This study sought to develop leaching rate data for small construction debris and compare those to the release rate from treated wood itself. Western hemlock boards were pressure treated with chromated copper arsenate Type C (CCA-C), and then common construction tools were used to generate sawdust or shavings from those boards. These wood particles were then leached in deionized water, and the leaching rate was...

Trends in demand for lumber and panel products in packaging and materials handling are examined both for the past and the future. Effects of recent technological developments and innovations such as molded particleboard pallets, medium-density fiberboard pallets, and plywood pallets, are analyzed. Increased use of pallets is seen as the main reason for the expected increase in wood products consumption. Use of the slip-sheet is considered competition for the wood pallet. Projections are made for lumber and board use in the 1980as.

This report presents experimental results of modulus of rupture and shear strength tests on unsplit, green, sawn Douglas-fir lumber. Five different size-matched specimens, ranging from nominal 2-by 4-in (standard 38- by 89-mm) to nominal 4- by 14-in (standard 95-by 343-mm), were tested in third-point bending and five-point beam shear. A total of 120 bending and 160 shear specimens, as well as shear blocks cut from each beam, were tested. Results adjusted to 12 percent moisture content are compared with results from prior research on Douglas-fir glued-laminated timber beams. Statistical...

Some building codes require wood shingles to be fire-retardant treated. Because exterior fire-retardant treatments are subjected to weathering, treatment durability and leach resistance are critical for insuring adequate fire protection. We examined the effectiveness of various fire-retardant treatments on wood after 0, 2, 5, and 10 years of outdoor exposure. We used a Class C burning-brand test (ASTM E 108) and a Schlyter flamespread test to evaluate effectiveness. Most shingle treatments evaluated were either pressure impregnated or coated at the Forest Products Laboratory; however, a...

In 1982, 175 softwood plywood plants operated in the United States with a combined production capacity of nearly 23.1 billion square feet (ft2 ) (3/8-in. basis) per year, 60 percent greater than in 1965. The West was the region with largest capacity in 1982--12.5 billion ft2. The South had 10.5 billion ft2 and the North less than half a billion ft2. Approximately 1.1 billion cubic feet (roundwood equivalent) of peeler logs were consumed in 1982 to produce 15.1 billion ft2 of softwood plywood. Domestic softwood plywood consumption in 1982 was 14.6 billion ft2, with residential construction...