Design tool development for retrofitting of I-joist having web hole / flange notch

Timber I-joists are very common for construction of residential and small scale commercial buildings around the world. Timber I-joists are commonly known as engineered I-joist due to utilization of engineered wood products (such as Oriented Strand Board (OSB) or Plywood as web materials and timber as flange materials) for manufacturing of I-joist. These engineered I-joists have several advantages over the solid sawn lumber joists, i.e. robust, easy to handle, lighter. Moreover, these engineered I-joists are very good to facilitate the different services i.e. plumbing and HVAC systems, of the building without increasing the building height. To facilitate those services, notching of flanges and web holes are very common. But it reduces the structural integrity of the flooring system. Hence, it is critical to investigate the performance of I-joists due to flange notch and web hole and their performance improvement due to the retrofitting with different techniques, which will be addressed through this proposed research. Based on the outcome of this research, a tool will be developed for the partner organization to assist the engineers for designing the retrofitting of I-joists having web hole/ flange notch.

Faculty Supervisor:

Shahria Alam

Student:

Partner:

AcuTruss Industries (1996) Ltd

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

University of British Columbia - Okanagan

Program: