DEVELOPMENT OF A METHOD TO ANALYZE STRUCTURAL INSULATED PANELS UNDER TRANSVERSE LOADING By HEMING ZHANG ALWIN

By Heming Zhang Alwin, M.S. Washington State University December 2002 Chair: John C. Hermanson Structural insulated panel (SIP) use in residential building began in the 1950s. Over the last two decades, greater SIPs usage has been encouraged by many factors. ICBO ES provides “Acceptance Criteria for Sandwich Panels AC04” for sandwich panels recognition. The criteria require that full-scale panels be tested in the laboratory. The criteria also allow the use of rational analysis to obtain full-scale panel mechanical properties. APA-The Engineered Wood Association (APA) published the design specifications for plywood sandwich panels. Yet, recent research showed that the design specifications provided by APA are inaccurate and incomplete. The goal of this research was to understand the limitations of APA design specifications and develop a better understanding of SIPs mechanical behavior to guide future simplified design equations. Mechanical tests were conducted on expanded polystyrene (EPS) core and oriented strand board (OSB) sheathing properties were obtained from the literature. The EPS property