Wood I-beam with synthetic fiber reinforcement

In a wood structural I-beam having first and second flanges that include wood and are spaced apart by a transverse web segment that defines a web plane through the flanges, the improvement comprising:

• a first reinforcement panel having plural fiber strands held within a resin matrix, the first reinforcement panel being adhered to the first flange at a position that does not intersect the web plane;
• and
• a second reinforcement panel having plural fiber strands held within a resin matrix, the second reinforcement panel being adhered to the second flange at a position that does not intersect the web plane.

In a wood structural I-beam having first and second flanges that include wood and are spaced apart by a transverse web segment that defines a web plane through the flanges, the first and second flanges each having a pair of opposed main flange faces transverse to the web plane and a pair of flange sides transverse to the main flange faces, the improvement comprising:

• first and second reinforcement panels each having plural fiber strands held within a resin matrix and generally thin, flat configurations with a pair of opposed major reinforcement faces, the first and second reinforcement panels being adhered to the respective first and second flanges, the reinforcement panels having their major reinforcement faces aligned transverse to the main flange faces of the first and second flanges, respectively.

In a wood structural I-beam having first and second flanges that include wood and are spaced apart by a transverse web segment that defines a web plane through the flanges, the first and second flanges each having a pair of opposed main flange faces transverse to the web plane and a pair of flange sides transverse to the main flange faces, the improvement comprising:

• a first reinforcement panel having plural fiber strands held within a resin matrix and a generally thin, flat configuration with a pair of opposed major reinforcement faces, the first reinforcement panel being adhered with its major reinforcement faces aligned transverse to the main flange faces of the first flange.

In a wood structural I-beam having a length and first and second flanges that include wood with the grain of the wood oriented along the length of the beam, the flanges being spaced apart by a transverse web segment that defines a web plane through the flanges, in which the first flange has a pair of opposed main flange faces transverse to the web plane, the improvement comprising:

• a first reinforcement panel having plural fiber strands held within a resin matrix, the first reinforcement panel being adhered to the first flange between the opposed main flange faces of the first flange, wherein the first reinforcement panel has a generally thin, flat configuration and is adhered with a major reinforcement major face aligned transverse to the web plane.