A growing number of structural composite wood products are currently a
vailable commercially. These products are typically manufactured from
small pieces of wood bonded with a synthetic resin under heat and pres
sure. The development of these products has not been aided by the use
of analytical models, but instead has resulted from expensive trial an
d error manufacturing exercises. An analytical model capable of predic
ting the tensile properties of a parallel-aligned strand composite was
developed. Model development was aided by experimental data obtained
from testing individual strands and small strand assemblies. The model
, in computer form, incorporates a special finite element used to mode
l the strands and resin of the composite, and uses a substructuring ro
utine to take advantage of the composite's repeating nature. Experimen
tal boards were manufactured and tested to check the validity of the m
odel. Based on the experimental results, the model successfully predic
ted the tensile stiffness and strength of the composite boards. This t
ension model provides a sound foundation upon which further developmen
t can be built. Further advancement of the model to allow prediction o
f compression, and subsequently, bending properties is desirable. Even
at this stage, however, the model could be a valuable tool to investi
gate some of the many variables involved in product development.