INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF STRUCTURAL WOOD COMPOSITES USING PROBABILISTIC METHODS

There have been a number of important developments in the forest produ cts industry in recent years. First, wood composites are becoming domi nant products in the structural materials markets due to changes in th e availability and characteristics of the timber resource. The second event is the move toward probability- based design (load resistance fa ctor design (LRFD)) for engineered wood construction. This development represents a commitment by the wood industry to place the design of w ood structures on the same basis as competing materials. This paper sh ows that structural wood composites are well positioned to take advant age of the introduction of LRFD concepts for wood design. Particular a ttention is paid to the potential for control of material property dis tributions through product design, manufacturing process control, and quality control.