A relatively new approach for wood protection against fungal decay is based on hydrophobization of wood and on lowering its moisture content. Water repellence of wood can be increased by ...polymerization of hydrophobic monomers in wood cell walls. It was found that Norway spruce wood after treatment with octadecyltrichlorosilane exhibited reduced water uptake by the wood cell walls, lowered water vapour sorption, and significantly increased dimensional stability of wood in terms of anti-swelling efficiency. Hydrophobicity and lower equilibrium moisture content were shown to cause increased resistance of the treated samples against brown-rot decay and molds.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Abstract
Hardness is an important mechanical property of wood or other wood-based materials and it is also very important in the case of wood coatings. Different indentation methods for measurements ...of hardness and other mechanical properties have been utilised already for a long time. In the last 50 years the instrumented indentation was developed. Here, an indenter tests the surface of a specimen with a controlled load and movement, in order to assess its mechanical properties. Three ranges of instrumented indentation tests are distinguished. In the macro range, the force is higher than 2 N, in the micro range it is below 2 N and the depth of indentation must exceed 0.2 μm. When the indentation depth is lower than 0.2 μm, the indentation technique is called nanoindentation. There can be found thousands of scientific papers about applications of instrumented nanoindentation in research of a large variety of materials. Instrumented microindentation remained somehow in the shadow of nanoindentation, but yet, it is a highly versatile technique with potentials to study various (micro)mechanical properties. In this review, examples of possible applications of instrumented microindentation are presented, with a focus on investigations of wood, wood-based composites, surface coated wood and polymeric films. In the second part of this paper, as an illustration, investigations of a self-healing wood paint are shown. The cyclic method and a single-load indentation confirmed the different mechanical properties and good scratch resistance of the self-healing paint.
This study aims to investigate the influence of thermal modification (TM) on the physical and mechanical properties of wood. For this purpose, the experimental part focused on selected influential ...parameters, namely temperature, residence time, and density, while the four-point bending strength is obtained as the output parameter. The obtained experimental data are stochastically modeled and compared with the model created by genetic programming (GP). The classical mathematical analysis obtained treatment parameters in relation to the maximum bending strength (T = 187 °C, t = 125 min ρ = 0.780 g/cm3) and compared with the results obtained by genetic algorithm (GA) (T = 208 °C, t = 122 min, and ρ = 0.728 g/cm3). It is possible to obtain models that describe experimental results well with stochastic modeling and evolutionary algorithms.
•Cork dust can be converted into a liquid material for preparation of bio-polymers.•Liquefaction of cork can be performed under acidic or alkaline conditions.•With the acid catalyst only ...lignocellulosic components of cork are liquefied.•In the alkaline environment cork suberin is also liquefied.•The highest liquefaction yields are obtained with the mixture of glycerol and PEG.
The aim of this study was to develop polymers in a liquid solution, from renewable bio-resources, usable as intermediate materials in the preparation of plastics, adhesives or coatings. The liquefaction of cork with glycerol was investigated at 150°C, 180°C, and 200°C under acidic (sulphuric acid) or alkaline conditions (sodium hydroxide). Cork appears as a two-component material, containing suberin and lignocelluloses. In the presence of sulphuric acid, only the liquefaction of the lignocellulosic components was achieved, leading to liquefaction yield of less than 47% at all investigated conditions. The inverse phenomenon was observed with sodium hydroxide. Suberin was almost completely liquefied, but an increase of temperature and/or sodium hydroxide content was necessary to improve the liquefaction of lignocelluloses. Addition of polyethylene glycol to glycerol to a certain extent caused the conversion of suberin under acid conditions leading to liquefaction yield up to 93%. Therefore, it was demonstrated that it is possible to use cork dust, a less valuable by-product, for the production of various basic chemicals and/or polymers with a high added value.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Due to their strong renewal power, the invasive tree species are spreading rapidly, especially in abandoned agricultural and forest areas and along traffic routes and water courses. One way of their ...restriction is the promotion of their use. In our research, we investigated surface finishing of wood of five selected invasive species in Slovenia, Box elder (Acer negundo L.), Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), Horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.), Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos L.) and Chinese sumac (Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle), and compared it with the finishing of the European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) wood. For coatings, we selected one-component waterborne finish on acrylate-polyurethane basis, one-component solventborne finish on polyurethane basis and tung oil as a natural finish. Several surface properties were investigated. We proved that surface hardness, resistance to impact and adhesion were very much related to interactions between the coating and the substrate, while resistance to cold liquids was only dependant on the type of the finish. It was also shown that, in general, finishing of woods of selected invasive tree species was not problematic. The only exception was Black locust wood on which tung oil cured very slowly.
Invazivne vrste drva brzo se šire zbog izrazito jakog svojstva obnavljanja, posebice na zapuštenim poljoprivrednim i šumskim površinama
te uz prometnice i vodotokove. Jedan od načina ograničavanja njihova širenja jest poticanje uporabe njihova drva. U ovom smo istraživanju proučavali površinsku obradu pet invazivnih vrsta drva u Sloveniji: negundovca (Acer negundo L.), bagrema (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), divljeg
kestena (Aesculus hippocastanum L.), gledičije (Gleditsia triacanthos L.) i pajasena (Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle), u usporedbi s površinskom obradom bukovine (Fagus sylvatica L.). Kao premazni materijali upotrijebljeni su jednokomponentni vodeni lak na bazi poliakrilata i poliuretana, jednokomponentni otapajući poliuretanski lak
i tungovo ulje kao prirodni premazni materijal. Pritom je ispitivano nekoliko svojstava površine. Dokazano je da tvrdoća površine, otpornost na udarce i adhezija izrazito ovise o međudjelovanju premaza i podloge, a
otpornost na hladne tekućine ovisi samo o vrsti premaza. Također je dokazano da površinska obrada promatranih invazivnih vrsta drva nije problematična. Izuzetak je drvo bagrema, na kojemu se tungovo ulje vrlo sporo suši.
The use of wood-based materials in building and construction is constantly increasing as environmental aspects and sustainability gain importance. For structural applications, however, there are many ...examples where hybrid material systems are needed to fulfil the specific mechanical requirements of the individual application. In particular, metal reinforcements are a common solution to enhance the mechanical properties of a wooden structural element. Metal-reinforced wood components further help to reduce cross-sectional sizes of load-bearing structures, improve the attachment of masonry or other materials, enhance the seismic safety and tremor dissipation capacity, as well as the durability of the structural elements in highly humid environments and under high permanent mechanical load. A critical factor to achieve these benefits, however, is the mechanical joint between the different material classes, namely the wood and metal parts. Currently, this joint is formed using epoxy or polyurethane (PU) adhesives, the former yielding highest mechanical strengths, whereas the latter presents a compromise between mechanical and economical constraints. Regarding sustainability and economic viability, the utilization of different adhesive systems would be preferable, whereas mechanical stabilities yielded for metal-wood joints do not permit for the use of other common adhesive systems in such structural applications. This study extends previous research on the use of non-thermal air plasma pretreatments for the formation of wood-metal joints. The plasma treatments of Norway spruce
Picea abies
(L.) Karst. wood and anodized (E6/EV1) aluminum AlMgSi0.5 (6060) F22 were optimized, using water contact angle measurements to determine the effect and homogeneity of plasma treatments. The adhesive bond strengths of plasma-pretreated and untreated specimens were tested with commercial 2-component epoxy, PU, melamine-urea formaldehyde (MUF), polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), and construction adhesive glue systems. The influence of plasma treatments on the mechanical performance of the compounds was evaluated for one selected glue system
via
bending strength tests. The impact of the hybrid interface between metal and wood was isolated for the tests by using five-layer laminates from three wood lamellae enclosing two aluminum plates, thereby excluding the influence of congeneric wood-wood bonds. The effect of the plasma treatments is discussed based on the chemical and physical modifications of the substrates and the respective interaction mechanisms with the glue systems.
Black poplar wood, diethylene glycol (DEG), and sulphuric acid as a catalyst were used as starting reactants for liquefaction. Optimal conditions for liquefaction were established: reaction ...temperature 150
°C, reaction time 95
min, ratio of wood:DEG
=
1:5 and 3% of sulphuric acid addition. The liquid mixture obtained by the liquefaction was composed of the real product of the reaction (the so called “excess solvent free liquefied wood” (ESFLW)) and of the remaining unreacted DEG. The unreacted DEG was successfully separated from the ESFLW and analysed with HPLC for levulinic acid content. Theoretical weight ratio between the wood and DEG required for the reaction was estimated. OH number investigation showed that the ESFLW in the liquid mixture contributes to maximally 60% of the free
OH groups. The crosslinking of the ESFLW without any curing agents or additives was performed for the first time, and the drying stages investigated. FT-IR investigations demonstrated that the obtained crosslinked polymer film could be an ether and/or ester network.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
This study aims to investigate the influence of atmospheric plasma treatment on the abrasion resistance of particleboards, as an example of a wood-based material, coated with a waterborne finish. The ...treatment of the substrate, prior to coating application, using a floating-electrode dielectric barrier discharge (FE-DBD) plasma, resulted in an enhanced abrasion resistance of the coated particleboards in comparison to the untreated ones during the abrasion test with a duration of 200 revolutions. This finding was related to lower contact angles of water and coating after treatment with plasma and greater hardness of the coating on the treated substrates. The micrographs of the sample cross sections recorded with scanning electron microscope showed differences in the amounts of remained coating on the abraded areas. Investigation with attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that treatment of the substrate with plasma did not affect the chemical composition nor the curing and structure of the later applied coating. Further studies should be performed to determine the resistance properties of such surface systems to other impacts.
Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti utjecaj atmosferske plazme na otpornost iverica na abraziju, kao primjer materijala na bazi drva premazanoga vodenim premazom. Tijekom ispitivanja abrazije u trajanju od 200 ciklusa obrada iverica uz pomoć plazme (FE-DBD) prije nanošenja premaza rezultirala je poboljšanom otpornošću premazanih iverica na abraziju u usporedbi s neobrađenom ivericom. Rezultat istraživanja povezan je s nižim kontaktnim kutom vode i premaznog materijala nakon obrade iverica plazmom i s većom tvrdoćom premaza na podlozi obrađenoj plazmom. Mikrografi je presjeka uzorka dobivene pretražnim elektronskim mikroskopom pokazale su razlike u količini preostalog premaza na površinama ispitanima na otpornost na habanje. Ispitivanje infracrvenom spektroskopijom uz prigušenu totalnu refleksiju pokazalo je da obrada podloge plazmom nije utjecala na kemijski sastav ni na otvrdnjavanje i strukturu kasnije nanesenog premaza. Potrebno je provesti daljnja ispitivanja kako bi se dodatno utvrdila otpornost takvih površinskih sustava.
Silicate coatings are environmentally friendly inorganic-based products that have long been used for mineral substrates and protection of steel against corrosion. The development and acceptance of ...these coatings in the wood sector require some adjustments in formulations or special preparation of the surface to be coated to obtain durable finishes. In this work, the adhesion of various silicate-based formulations to a beech wood substrate (Fagus sylvatica L.), was assessed with the main objective to study relevant parameters and potential improvements. Adhesion strength was determined by pull-off and cross-cut tests. Other coating properties such as scratch, impact, and water resistance were also determined. Surface roughness and interface were analyzed using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and coating curing was studied by attenuated total reflection-infrared spectroscopy (ATR FTIR). The results showed that adhesion was highly dependent on formulation, penetration of the coatings into wood, and mechanical anchoring. Increasing the content of solid particles in the coating formulations or adding a polyol (glycerol, xylose), which probably acted as a coalescent, considerably decreased the adhesion strength, probably by blocking penetration into the wood by forming aggregates. Adhesion was improved by pre-mineralization of the surface, and substitution of a part of the potassium silicate binder with potassium methyl siliconate reduced the formation of cracks caused by dimensional instability of the wood.
This paper presents a novel method of partially liquefying bark sawmilling waste for use in making particleboards. Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) bark of different particle sizes (fine, medium, ...coarse, and mixed) was partially liquefied in the presence of ethylene glycol as a solvent and sulphuric acid as a catalyst at 180 degrees C for 30 minutes. Single-layer particleboards were prepared by mixing partially liquefied bark (PLB) and wood chips at a ratio of 0.25 with no adhesives (group A) and at ratios of 0.25 or 0.1 with melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF) adhesives for additional bonding (groups B and C respectively). Mechanical and physical properties of the particleboards were tested according to European standards. The results showed that the boards in group A had lower densities, inferior mechanical properties and higher moisture content than those in groups B and C. Bark particle size had a significant effect on the mechanical properties of particleboards within each group. Additional MUF bonding and avoidance of coarse bark particles had a positive effect on mechanical properties. The thickness swelling (TS) and water absorption (WA) values of MUF-bonded boards were lower than those of boards without MUF, and greater addition of PLB produced particleboards with better water resistance. Bark particle size was not as critical for TS and WA as for mechanical properties. The overall results suggested using a bark particle size of < 2 mm for further studies.