A new ASTM International standard, D 7247, Test Method for Evaluating the Shear Strength of Adhesive Bonds in Laminated Wood Products at Elevated Temperature, will be an important new tool for anyone working with engineered wood products. The proposal for D 7247 originated in Committee D07 on Wood and members of both that committee and Committee D14 on Adhesives worked together to develop it. The standard is now under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee D14.30 on Wood Adhesives, part of Committee D14.
 
The new test method can be used to evaluate the comparative shear strength of a planar adhesive bond at both ambient and elevated temperatures relative to the performance of solid wood under the same conditions.
 
“The engineered wood products industry believes that there is a need to demonstrate that adhesives used to manufacture engineered wood products will perform comparably with the wood substrates at elevated temperatures,” says Borjen Yeh, director, technical services division, APA — The Engineered Wood Association.
 
Yeh says that the new standard will be referenced in engineered wood product standards such as D 5055, Specification for Establishing and Monitoring Structural Capacities of Prefabricated Wood I-Joists, and D 5456, Specification for Evaluation of Structural Composite Lumber Products. In addition, other product standards may eventually reference D 7247.
 
ASTM International standards are available for purchase from Customer Service (610/832-9585; https://www.astm.org/contact/) or at http://www.astm.org.

For further technical information, contact Borjen Yeh, APA — The Engineered Wood Association, Tacoma, Wash. (253/620-7467; borjen.yeh@apawood.org). Committee D14 meets Oct. 23-25, during the October Committee Week in Atlanta, Ga. For membership or meeting information, contact Joe Hugo, ASTM International (phone: 610/832-9740; jhugo@astm.org).

Committee D07 on Wood meets Oct. 16-18, at the Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wis. For membership or meeting information, contact Kevin Shanahan, ASTM International (phone: 610/832-9737; kshanaha@astm.org).

In addition to approving D 7247, Committee D14 recently formed a new task group to develop a proposed standard on structural insulated panels. All interested parties are invited to join the task group, which is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee D14.70 on Construction Adhesives. The task group has begun work on the proposed new standard, WK11541, Specification for Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) Adhesives for Bonding Oriented Strand Board (OSB) Facers to Rigid Cellular Polystyrene Thermal Insulation Core Materials.

While structural insulated panels have existed for some time, SIPs have gained attention in recent years due to spiraling energy costs and damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Initial interest in developing the proposed new standard WK11541 surfaced when the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) began work on a prescriptive method for SIPs in residential construction. A representative from the SIPA technical committee attended the April meeting of Subcommittee D14.70 and requested that a task group be formed to develop an ASTM specification covering adhesives for SIPs which could be referenced in the SIPA method. The resulting proposed standard, WK11541, is now being developed by the new task group.

For further technical information, contact James Richards, Rohm and Haas Corporation, Elgin, Ill. (phone: 847/649-3884; jrichard@rohmhaas.com). Committee D14 meets Oct. 23-25, during the October Committee Week in Atlanta, Ga. For membership or meeting information, contact Joe Hugo, ASTM International (phone: 610/832-9740; jhugo@astm.org).

Release #7448