Partnerships and Technology Transfer
APA works closely with research partners representing government agencies, universities, suppliers to the industry, and code authorities. Research results and recommendations are shared through reports, presentations of technical papers, and educational materials that serve to transfer knowledge and information to key users and specifiers of structural wood products.
Industry Professionals Witness Diaphragm Tests at APA Research Center
Representatives from the International Code Council Evaluation Service (ICC-ES), Canadian Construction Materials Centre (CCMC), Canadian Wood Council, FP Innovations, University of New Brunswick, Intertek, Boise Cascade, LP, Pacific Woodtech, Pinkwood, and Roseburg Forest Products gathered at the APA Research Center to witness small-scale and full-scale diaphragm tests conducted with prefabricated wood I-joists and wood structural panel floor sheathing. The series of tests were designed to evaluate the performance of light-frame wood diaphragms in support of engineering designs, and cover various diaphragm configurations and cases stipulated in the code. Results from this study will provide recommendations for I-joist diaphragms in product evaluation reports and engineering standards.
Glulam In-Grade Testing
APA is working with its member manufacturers of glued laminated timber (glulam) to complete a series of in-grade tests. The purpose of the test program is to develop a full-scale glulam performance database to compare with the critical design for glulam. This multi-year ongoing project calls for testing glulam beams of major wood species with samples from multiple manufacturing facilities per year to represent the real production in the marketplace. Matched tension laminations and end joints are also sampled and tested.