Thesis
Design and fatigue of a structural wood-plastic composite
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2004
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/231
Abstract
Wood-plastic composites (WPCs) have emerged as a viable replacement for industrial structural applications such as waterfront structures and bridge decking due to its resistance to moisture and decay. In this study, procedures for assigning allowable design stresses were developed, including adjustments in design values for load duration, moisture, and temperature effects. The proposed procedures were applied to an extruded composite material determined by evaluating twenty-two maple and pine polypropylene formulations for mechanical and physical properties. The resulting allowable design stresses were used to determine required section properties for AASHTO loadings, resulting in the creation of span tables. The influences of coupling agents, test frequency, and stress ratio on the fatigue life were investigated. Results show that fatigue life and internal heating increased with increasing test frequency; however, strain to failure remained relatively constant. Comparing the static and fatigue test distributions indicated that the uncoupled formulation displays different mechanisms controlling short- and long-term failures, unlike those for the formulation containing co-polymer coupling agents. Finally, fatigue testing indicated that the selected WPC formulation is suitable for pedestrian bridge applications.
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Details
- Title
- Design and fatigue of a structural wood-plastic composite
- Creators
- Andrew Edward Slaughter
- Contributors
- Michael P. Wolcott (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525276101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis