Thread: Wood as strong as steel - new science!

I'd be interested to know the retail price when it hits the showroom...

Reminds me of when i was shown waterproof mdf, a product called Tricoya EXDF, which comes with a 25 year in ground warranty. Don't believe even solid wood has such a warranty.
The local Gunersons store has a block of it sitting in water and are more than happy to take it out and measure it with calipers to show you its stable in water. Obviously super keen at the idea asked for the price per sheet... had to pick my mouth up from the floor.

The article must be referring to lightweight north American timbers because some Aussie timber is already nearly (weight for weight) as strong as steel. I wonder what would happened if this wood was used?

"It is as strong as steel, but six times lighter. . . . . . .. "

Humm, . . . . The blurb says the wood is compressed by 80% so if the original density of wood is 500 kg/m^3 an 80% compression means a factor 5 denser this will make it about 2500 kg/m^3
Steel is about 7800 kg/m^3 so the compressed wood will then be ~3 times less dense - where does the 6 times lighter come from?

A few years ago I read about a Japanese patent on a process whereby they put all manner of crappy wood into a long mould along with proprietary chemicals, The mould is compressed under very high pressures and cooked in a large microwave. I forget their claim on strength improvement but It's a way of using timber waste and trees unsuited for conventional milling. So far they're not using it because its still cheaper a to buy conventional timber.

Originally Posted by tonzeyd

I'd be interested to know the retail price when it hits the showroom... Reminds me of when i was shown waterproof mdf, a product called Tricoya EXDF, which comes with a 25 year in ground warranty. Don't believe even solid wood has such a warranty

I'll believe its possible - just inject enough "stuff" into the wood and it will probably last for thousands of years.

What worries me more with the US process is the nasty chemicals required - this will invariably end in tears before bedtime.

What I'd like to see is some very long term breeding programs to improve timber quality and increased tree growth in harsher environments - but given how long they take to grow I guess that will never happened

Originally Posted by BobL

Steel is about 7800 kg/m^3 so the compressed wood will then be ~3 times less dense - where does the 6 times lighter come from?

Balsa wood is 170 kg/m3 so with the added weight of the glue 6 times is possible.

I think that the real advantage would be moulding shapes that are currently only possible in plastic or steel.

Originally Posted by BobL

I'll believe its possible - just inject enough "stuff" into the wood and it will probably last for thousands of years.

What worries me more with the US process is the nasty chemicals required - this will invariably end in tears before bedtime.

The water the block was sitting in was a very nice green/blue color not typical if it was algae

Originally Posted by Bohdan

Balsa wood is 170 kg/m3 so with the added weight of the glue 6 times is possible.

Conversely if the starting density is ~1000 kg.m^3, as per some Aussie timbers, then we are talking only 1.5x lighter

I think that the real advantage would be moulding shapes that are currently only possible in plastic or steel.

Agree.

Barely a day goes by where Im not sent an article on a new multi-story building going up that is made of timber. I particularly like the way its all pre-fabricated offsite and simply bolted together by a team of carpenters.

As a renewable material and with carbon depositing becoming a thing, this has amazing possibilities. Its obvious houses will benefit.

Of interest too is glueLam and what companies like this are doing: Vicbeam and https://www.facebook.com/beambuilders/

I've posted this before but it got lost in the picture wipeouts.
It's a 33m all wooden bridge built by my Northern Italian cousins using their Hundeger Automated wood processor.
Wood goes in one end and all the parts come out the other.
This one was even built in the factory and one end of the bridge attached to a prime mover and a wifi connected jinker at the other and then driven 12km to the location and lifted into place.

Bridge.jpg
Bridge2.jpg
Bridge3.jpg
Bridge4.jpg
bridgedetail.jpg
flowerBoxes.jpg
The last one shows the front panels of flower boxes added to the front of the bridge.

Curved laminated beams are amazingly strong and attractive. have a look at the ones in the dome at Sydney showground.

Back last century, an engineering cadet I worked with won the Institution of Engineers prize, for a laminated arch design. She went on to work in hydrology rather than structural, though.

"First, natural wood is boiled in a mix of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphite" Yummy.... I wonder what residual volatiles are left at the end of the process and how bad the dust is to breathe.

Originally Posted by tonzeyd

Reminds me of when i was shown waterproof mdf, a product called Tricoya EXDF, which comes with a 25 year in ground warranty. Don't believe even solid wood has such a warranty.

Have a look here for solid wood https://www.accoya.com/ 25 year freshwater and in-ground, 50 year above ground warranty and it's just using vinegar.

Originally Posted by woodPixel

Barely a day goes by where Im not sent an article on a new multi-story building going up that is made of timber. I particularly like the way its all pre-fabricated offsite and simply bolted together by a team of carpenters.

As a renewable material and with carbon depositing becoming a thing, this has amazing possibilities. Its obvious houses will benefit.

Of interest too is glueLam and what companies like this are doing: Vicbeam and https://www.facebook.com/beambuilders/

LVL is another technology that's widespread in Europe and is making an entrance here in large-scale construction. It's plywood, but all, or nearly all, of the layers run the same way. http://www.timberbuilt.com.au/timber...tion-building/

Now they need to figure out how to weld this stuff.

Originally Posted by rob streeper

Now they need to figure out how to weld this stuff.

Titebond 3

I watch several programs such as "Grand designs"I get the impression that Australia has a long way to go before we
catch up with European use of engineered wood. The same can be said for Canada and probably the USA, particularly
the use in those two countries of huge laminated beams.

Elanjacobs mentions LVL beams. Good things but they should only be used where they are completely protected from moisture in particular.
The subfloor structure in our home is LVL. Trouble is he beams were extended beyond the walls of the house to support the front deck. So
far things are OK but I worry about the possibility of rain getting into the laminations.

Originally Posted by woodPixel

Titebond 3

Gotta be at least Titebond 12.