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Author Topic: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel  (Read 567 times)

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rangerrebew

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Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« on: February 09, 2018, 03:06:18 pm »
Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
 
Alex Lee
 
9 Feb 2018
 
There’s are many excellent reasons planes aren’t made out of wood, but one of these just got knocked down. A team of researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have managed to make wood that is twelve times tougher than regular wood, and literally has the strength of steel.

The team, led by Liangbing Hu, started by boiling samples of wood in a liquid mix of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphide to partially remove hemicellulose and lignin, both important polymers in the formation of cell walls. Then, the team pressed the wood using heat compression, collapsing the cell walls completely and forming tightly-aligned cellulous nanofibers. What they were left with was a very dense piece of wood, 20% thinner than natural wood, but with strength you just wouldn’t believe.

http://www.alphr.com/science/1008455/wood-strong-as-steel
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Offline Suppressed

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2018, 03:22:42 pm »
Even reading the article, it's difficult to tell what types of "Strength" and "toughness" they are referring to...

Quote
... 12 times stronger than natural wood and ten times tougher ...

I'm assuming KIc for toughness, but there's a variety of strengths that could be relevant, and if it's strong on one (e.g., tensile) and not on another (e.g., compressive), then that would have very different uses.
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Offline skeeter

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2018, 03:25:39 pm »
Cool. Now all they need to do is design saw blades that can cut their new wood.
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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2018, 03:26:51 pm »
Quote from: skeeter on February 09, 2018, 03:25:39 pm
Cool. Now all they need to do is design saw blades that can cut their new wood.

Yeah, it talked about toughness and strength, but not hardness.
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Offline driftdiver

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2018, 03:34:03 pm »
Quote from: skeeter on February 09, 2018, 03:25:39 pm
Cool. Now all they need to do is design saw blades that can cut their new wood.

Sounds like you'd cut the wood to size first and then make it strong.   Probably still need to cut in order to fine tune it.

Seems like all they are doing is compressing the wood and adding a resin.  Perhaps useful but not earth shaking.
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Offline thackney

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2018, 03:38:41 pm »
Quote from: skeeter on February 09, 2018, 03:25:39 pm
Cool. Now all they need to do is design saw blades that can cut their new wood.

It sounded mostly compressed, removing some flexible components, not hardened.
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Offline thackney

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2018, 03:41:29 pm »
Quote from: driftdiver on February 09, 2018, 03:34:03 pm
Sounds like you'd cut the wood to size first and then make it strong.   Probably still need to cut in order to fine tune it.

Seems like all they are doing is compressing the wood and adding a resin.  Perhaps useful but not earth shaking.

I don't think they are adding a resin, just removing hemicellulose and lignin, then compressing.
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Offline driftdiver

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2018, 03:42:53 pm »
Quote from: thackney on February 09, 2018, 03:41:29 pm
I don't think they are adding a resin, just removing hemicellulose and lignin, then compressing.

The real question is does it make a better kayak.
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Offline endicom

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2018, 03:53:51 pm »
Quote from: driftdiver on February 09, 2018, 03:34:03 pm

Seems like all they are doing is compressing the wood and adding a resin. 


In 1959 we were shown blocks of compressed and compregnated wood.

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Offline andy58-in-nh

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2018, 03:55:08 pm »
Rosie O'Donnell just called to ask if the new wood won't burn or melt like steel, too.
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Online Elderberry

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #10 on: February 09, 2018, 04:06:22 pm »
Where I used to work, one of the workers would vacuum impregnate wood with epoxy. He would then compress the wood in a hydraulic press until the epoxy fully cured. I remember it was incredibly hard, dense blocks afterward. He was only making small blocks though.
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Offline thackney

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #11 on: February 09, 2018, 11:06:13 pm »
Quote from: driftdiver on February 09, 2018, 03:42:53 pm
The real question is does it make a better kayak.

Probably not, flexible stuff has been removed and extremely dense.

I wouldn't want to work it, but might make some decent structural members for long spans.
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Offline GtHawk

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #12 on: February 09, 2018, 11:24:14 pm »
Quote from: driftdiver on February 09, 2018, 03:42:53 pm
The real question is does it make a better kayak.
I would think the better question is what do the termites think?
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Oceander

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #13 on: February 10, 2018, 02:15:45 am »
Quote from: driftdiver on February 09, 2018, 03:42:53 pm
The real question is does it make a better kayak.

:thumbsup:

Somebody with his head screwed on right!
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Offline anubias

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #14 on: February 10, 2018, 02:45:18 am »
I just knew this one was going to be one wood joke after another.  Y’all are falling down on the job.
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BassWrangler

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #15 on: February 10, 2018, 07:05:31 am »
That’s what she said.
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Offline GtHawk

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #16 on: February 10, 2018, 09:08:51 pm »
Quote from: anubias on February 10, 2018, 02:45:18 am
I just knew this one was going to be one wood joke after another.  Y’all are falling down on the job.
Okay, so........................would this wood be a good wood for a Woodie, because only the best wood is wood I would use to make my Woodie better.




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Offline WingNot

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Re: Scientists have just made wood that is as strong as steel
« Reply #17 on: February 10, 2018, 09:13:22 pm »
But is it hard enough to cut glass?
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