Improved Utilization of Small-Diameter Ponderosa Pine in Glulam-Laminated Timber by United States Department of Agricutlure (Paperback / softback, 2015)
This study involved the evaluation of ponderosa pine glulam made from lumber that was sawn from a small-diameter timber resource. Two different glulam beam depths were evaluated: 8 and 13 laminations. A comprehensive glulam test program was conducted to evaluate edgewise and flatwise bending, shear, and tensile strength. Beam deflection was measured and a variety of glulam MOE values were determined. The calculated design values for various mechanical properties of this new ponderosa pine glulam beam combination were compared to the published design values of the L3 glulam combination. Using mechanically graded lumber in the glulam combination resulted in a structural member that efficiently utilized this small-diameter ponderosa pine resource. The calculated design values of this new glulam combination are a significant improvement over the published design values of the all ponderosa pine L3-grade combination that is currently available in the standards.