Presentation

on
Wood Composites

Course Teacher By

Dr.I.Sekar A.Maheshwaran
Associate Professor BSF-04-012
Wood Plastic Composites
 Wood plastic
• Plastic ranging from polypropylene to PVC
• Binders/Fillers – Wood flour to Wax
• Wood – saw dust & scrap wood products
 Benefits
• True hybrid materials & combine best features of
wood & plastics
• Use low cost & plentiful raw materials
• Competitively priced
• Easily produced & easily fabricated
• Available in broad range of finishes & appearance
• Easily recycled after use
• No further processing is needed
• Weather, water, & mould resistant
Properties
 Properties
• High resistance to moisture (0.7%
compared to 17.2% in Pine)
• Moisture not transmitted across plastic
boundaries
• Good stiffness & impact resistance
• Dimensional stability
• Resistance to rot
• Excellent thermal properties
 Environmental Benefits
• Negligible waste & that produced is reused
• No volatile organic compound
• Recycled & reused after their service life
• Disposed using standard methods
• Increase efficiency up to 40% compared to
traditional wood
Processing
• Mix of wood & plastic - modified with
process & additives - to improve
processing / final properties of WPC
• Compatibiliser/coupling agent – Improve
blending
• Basic wood product – fine saw dust(40-60-
mesh range)
• Simple die can be used even for most
complex profile
Wood filler
 Wood putty or Plastic wood
 wood dust combined with a binder that
dries and a diluent and a pigment
 fill imperfections, nail holes or pores in
wood
 Wood putty or plastic wood - thicker version
 Wood filler - thinner version
Plastic wood
 The base product -100%
recycled High-Density
Polyethylene (HDPE)
 shampoo and detergent
bottles, to milk jugs
 Some, entirely of HDPE
 recycled HDPE + with
wood fibers, rubber,
fiberglass, or other
plastics
Like Natural wood, Plastic lumber is
 expand & contract with heat (Magnitude
varies)
 cut and shaped with traditional wood
working tools
Plastic wood will not:
 Rot (seawalls, docks)
 crack
 warp
 splinter
 degrade
Plastic wood is:
 denser than wood
 virtually maintenance free
 long lasting
 stain resistant
 waterproof
 UV resistant
 aesthetically pleasing
 impervious to insects
 not affected by exposure to most substances
Plastic wood also:
 works with any deck fastener
 requires no painting or sealing
 used in composite extruded panel plastic
wood for flooring
 Provides a good shock-absorbing surface
for pedestrian traffic, such as runners and
hikers.
Plastic lumber and Wood-plastic
composites - difference
 fiber plastic lumber can  Wood-plastic
have less than 50% composites have at
wood fiber. least 50% or more wood
 balloted in ASTM by  balloted in ASTM by
Committee D20 committee D07
 Standard Test Method  Standard Test Methods
for Shear Properties of for Evaluating the
Plastic Lumber and Mechanical and
Plastic Lumber Shapes. Physical Properties of
Wood-Plastic Composite
Products
New technology in plastic
composite lumber
 post-consumer plastics such as high
density polyethylene (HDPE)
 mixed environmental wastes and plastic
material into extruded composite lumber
 65% recycled Cellulostics materials and
30% recycled plastic materials.
CATEGORIES
1. Material Preparation
2. Extruder Design
3. Screw Design
4. Cooling Technology
5. Die technology
6. Fillers
Wood cement
Wood cement
 wood wool cement boards (WWCB)
 cement bonded particleboard (CBPB)
General Properties
 durable and resistant to frost/thaw, fire,
moisture, rot, vermin, fungus and termites
 easy workability
MANUFACTURING PROCESSES
 Manufacture of Wood Wool Cement Board

 Manufacture of Cement Bonded Particle Boards

 Manufacture of Cement Bonded Fibre Boards

Manufacture of WWCB
 Long wood + cement
 wool strands (or excelsior) - cut from
debarked logs
 400-500mm length prior to cutting the wood wool
 treated to prevent blue-staining
 The logs stored on racks a month to reduce
the moisture & sugar content
Manufacture of WWCB
 wood is shredded

 salt (CaCl2) solution + Portland cement (2:1 ratio)

 spread onto plywood moulds & stacked

 The mats pressed at room temperature under 10 psi.

 stack is clamped under pressure for another 24 hours then

removed from the moulds & cured for 2-3 weeks.

 They are subsequently trimmed and finished.

Workers collecting sawn logs for shredding
Logs being shredded into wood wool
The wood wool is then soaked in a salt solution
Eltomation Rotating Wood Wool Machine Boards
The pressed and finished boards
Manufacture of CBPC
 wood is in particle rather than strand form
 softwood logs debarked & stored to reduce
moisture and sugar content
 Portland cement: wood: water in ratio 3:1:1
 Water evaporation is monitored
 CaCl2 added - cement setting
 The mixture fed to a conveyor
Manufacture of CBPC
 mat subsequently cut
 These stacked & compressed together to
1/3rd of its original height over a 2-3 minute
period.
 The mats are clamped and heated in a
chamber at 70-80 degrees Celsius for 6-8
hours.
 boards dried, trimmed and stored for 12-18
days until the cement cures.
Modern CBPB plant
Manufacture of CBFB
 wood  pulped cellulose
fibre (with an air-dry
moisture content of 12-16%)
 Silica + alumina + water +
pulped cellulose
 Binders added
 water removed and mixture
is rolled onto mats, cut, and
sized, or moulded
Properties
Properties of WWCB
 insulation
 fire retardation
 water resistance
 resistance to organism attack
 mechanical properties
Insulation
 WWCB provides very good insulation, both thermally and
acoustically.
 Acoustic Insulation
 Resistance of a plastered wall of 5cm Wood Wool Cement
Boards 36-40dB
 Resistance of a plastered double wall with air space between
WWCBs 53-57dB
 Resistance of a permanent shuttered wall with 12cm concrete
core 354-56dB
 Noise Reduction Coefficient for 2.5cm board 0.7
 Thermal Insulation (Evans,1996)
 Thermal resistance (R) for 2.5cm board 5
Fire Resistance
 5cm boards 1 hour resistance
 10cm boards 2 hours resistance

Water Resistance
Dimensional change after soaking in water for 48 hours:
 0.84% thickness swelling
 0.21% linear expansion
 22% water absorption

Resistance to Organism Attack

WWCB is highly resistant to dry rot and other fungal growth as well
as to termites.
Mechanical Properties
 Specific Gravity
 light boards for insulation only 360kg per cubic metre
 denser boards for roofs and permanent shuttering 450kg per
cubic metre
 Bending Strength = 20-30kg per cubic centimeter
 Design load for 2cm board = 50psf
 Ultimate load for 2cm board = 200psf
 Allowable span for 2cm board = 122cm
 Deflection at design load = 0.2cm
Properties of CBPB
 insulation
 machinability
 water resistance
 mechanical properties
Insulation
 Thermal Insulation
 Thermal conductivity (k value) = 0.35W/m.K Linear thermal expansion =
0.01W/m.K

 Electrical Insulation
 CBPB is resistant to tracking and does not build up static charges, thus be
used as backing panelling for electrical appliances.

 Acoustic Insulation
 The sound reduction for boards of various thicknesses is as follows:
 6mm - 28dB
 10mm - 31dB
 20mm - 33dB
 30mm - 36.5dB
 40mm - 38dB
Machinability
 working - CBPB can be worked using hard tipped tools in a similar
manner to timber,plywood or chipboard.

 sawing - can be sawn with handsaws, jigsaws with suitable blades

or power saws with tungstentipped blades.

 drilling - use hand drill or high speed power drill

 sanding - manual sanding or mechanical sander preferably applied

to both sides of board simultaneously.

 fixing - drilling of pilot holes for nails and screws is recommended

for most board thicknesses.
Water Resistance
 Thickness swelling
 <1.0% after 2 hours soaking
 <1.5% after 24 hours soaking
 <2.0% after >24 hours soaking

 Longitudinal and Transverse Swelling

 2.7mm/m from air dry to water saturated
 0.1mm/m for each 1% change in moisture content of the
board
 1.4mm/m for each 30% change in relative humidity of
ambient air
Mechanical Properties
 modulus of elasticity = 4500N per cubic
mm
 bending strength = 10-15N per cubic mm
(depending on density and raw materials)
 compressive strength = 15N per cu mm
 density = 1250kg per cubic metre
APPLICATIONS
Applications of
CBPB
External Applications
• flat roofing
• prefabricated structures(including housing)
• mobile homes
• permanent formwork
• balcony parapets and floors
• cladding for industrial and warehouse
buildings
• tunnel linings
External Applications
• sound barrier walls on highways
• fire barriers
• pavillions
• separating and party walls
• soffits
• agricultural buildings
• swimming pool surroundings and paving
Internal Applications

• sound insulation and fire

resistant partitions and
doors
• linings for timber frame
housing
• fire resistant doors, walls
and ceilings
• built-in furniture
• column and beam casings
Internal Applications

• lift shaft and duct linings

• back boards for electrical
and gas appliances
• glue laminated structural
members
• flooring in greenhouses
• linings for bathrooms and
laundries
Applications of
WWCB
Most important
applications
• thermal and acoustic insulation
• for low-cost housing
thermal and acoustic
insulation
• basements
• floor units
• permanent shuttering
• partitioning
• sound insulation in walls, ceilings and floors
• roofs
• sound barriers
• thermal insulation (often combined with
other insulation products such as
polystyrene and polyurethane)
Applications for Low-Cost
Housing
• relative low price of products since wood wool
can be produced from inferior quality wood
which is unsuitable for sawmills

• simple technology required to produce boards,

etc - see photograph below of plant in the
Philippines

• in most countries in the world wood and the

components of cement are readily available

• low enough weight to allow handling panels

without the use of cranes or heavy machinery
Applications for Low-Cost
Housing
• highly skilled labourers are not required for board
manufacture or building construction which allows boards
to be made and buildings to be constructed locally and
cheaply

• the construction process is quite fast and simple

• high insulation value

• easy handling and workability

• important properties such as fire, water, termite and

fungi resistance
References:
• http://www.umeciv.maine.edu/rla/images/DSC00088.JPG

• http://www.tangram.co.uk/TI-Polymer-Plastic&Composite_Windows.html

• http://www.tangram.co.uk/TI-Wood_Plastic_Composites.html

• http://www.tangram.co.uk/TI-Wood_Plastic_Composites_Review.pdf

• http://www.cis.tennessee.edu/EPAMACT/other/Plywood/pcwpVT1.shtml

• http://www.renewresources.com

• http://www.machinerydata.com/HowToMakePlasticWood.htm

• http://www.cierraindustries.com/plasticlumber.asp

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood-plastic_composite
• http://www.awc.org/Publications/download.html

• http://www.awc.org/HelpOutreach/faq/FAQfiles/Plastic_Wood-Lumber.html

• http://www.panelworldmag.com/vserver/hb/display.cfm?
MagazineKey=6&IssueKey=461&SectionKey=389&ArticleKey=620

• http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf1997/wolfe97a.pdf#search=%22wood
%20cement%20products%22

• http://www.ccaconference.org/pre/pdf/Gong.pdf#search=%22wood%20cement
%20products%22

• http://www.anu.edu.au/Forestry/wood/cfb/contents.html

• http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf1996/geime96b.pdf#search=%22cement
%20wood%22

• http://www.aciar.gov.au/web.nsf/doc/JFRN-5J47AH

• http://www.anu.edu.au/Forestry/wood/nwfp/woodwool/woodwoolphil.html

• http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inventory/walls/wood-fiber-composite-forms
Thank you