Performance assessment of existing Korean school building (II) - Study on the species identification and residual strength properties of the rafter members

In this study, a test was carried out on the rafters of a classroom in the Iri Agriculture and Forestry High School which was constructed in 1959 as the predecessor of Iksan National College. The rafter members were divided into two species groups according to their visual characteristics. Species identification and tests for residual performance of the rafters were carried out for the 50-year-old school building. The oven-dried specific gravities of pine and fir were 0.47 and 0.44, respectively. The moisture contents of pine and fir were 22.1% and 15.6%, respectively. In comparison to the data provided by the existing domestic report, the members showed significant strength properties in consideration of the building's old age of 50 years. It is concluded that the members can be used for more value added purposes rather than only for conventional uses such as landfill, wood panel productions and fuel wood. In cases where a particularly high safety standard is not required, many other uses for the rafter members could be possible such as reuse for structural members, material for antique furniture, outdoor landscape facilities, sidings for wooden frame structures, palettes, etc. Group 1 was classified as Pinus densiflora, while group 2 was classified as Abies nephrolepis by using microscopic picture inspection and a comparison of mechanical and physical properties.