dc.contributor.author	Spradlin, Warren Edward II	en
dc.contributor.committeechair	Smith, Robert L.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Lamb, Fred M.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Bush, Robert J.	en
dc.contributor.department	Wood Science and Forest Products	en
dc.date.accessioned	2011-08-06T14:49:21Z	en
dc.date.adate	1997-01-05	en
dc.date.available	2011-08-06T14:49:21Z	en
dc.date.issued	1998-04-24	en
dc.date.rdate	1998-01-05	en
dc.date.sdate	1997-09-25	en
dc.description.abstract	Decision-makers involved in material choice decisions in the United States infrastructure were surveyed to identify factors which are important in the material choice decision and to determine the perceptions of wood in various infrastructure applications. This information led to the development of strategies to increase the use of wood in infrastructure markets across the US. The highway, marine/inland waterway, railroad and utility systems composed the four markets representing the US infrastructure. A total of 2344 questionnaires were mailed nationwide. The perceptions of wood were further defined through personal interviews with 112 individuals in four geographically dispersed states. The most important factors in material choice decisions were durability, maintenance and cost. Environmental impact, ease of design and innovativeness of material were less important in the material choice decision. Highway and marine/inland waterway respondents perceived wood to be among the lowest materials in overall performance. Railroad and utility respondents perceived wood to have significantly better overall performance than highway and marine/inland waterway respondents. Respondents perceived wood's advantages to be its aesthetically pleasing appearance, low initial cost, ease in repair and ease in field modification. They perceived the disadvantages of wood to be high life-cycle costs, high maintenance requirements and low biological decay resistance. Several strategies are suggested to increase wood use in infrastructure, including: greater market approach by the wood products industry, improved timber structure design details, and increased service life of wood through improved chemical preservative treatments.	en
dc.description.degree	Master of Science	en
dc.format.medium	ETD	en
dc.identifier.other	etd-9297-173637	en
dc.identifier.sourceurl	http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-9297-173637	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10919/9784	en
dc.publisher	Virginia Tech	en
dc.relation.haspart	etd.PDF	en
dc.relation.haspart	theschp1.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	tab1_20.PDF	en
dc.relation.haspart	theschp2.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	theschp3.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	theschp4.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	theschp5.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	theschp6.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	theschp7.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	theschp8.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	tab21_40.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	tab41_93.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	vita.pdf	en
dc.rights	In Copyright	en
dc.rights.uri	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/	en
dc.subject	Wood	en
dc.subject	Infrastructure	en
dc.subject	Highway	en
dc.subject	Marine	en
dc.subject	Inland	en
dc.subject	Waterway	en
dc.subject	Railroad	en
dc.subject	Utility	en
dc.subject	Structures	en
dc.subject	Perceptions	en
dc.subject	Factors	en
dc.subject	Materials	en
dc.title	A Perceptional Comparison of Wood in Separate Infrastructure Markets	en
dc.type	Thesis	en
thesis.degree.discipline	Wood Science and Forest Products	en
thesis.degree.grantor	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	en
thesis.degree.level	masters	en
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science	en

A Perceptional Comparison of Wood in Separate Infrastructure Markets

Files

Original bundle

Collections