Dimensional Stabilization of Engineered Wood Floor Using Linseed Oil and Paraffin Wax Impregnation

Engineered wood flooring comprises three or more layers of wood veneer adhered together to create a plank. The surfaces were coated to scale back water absorption. However, as wood is a hygroscopic substance, it loses and gains moisture from the atmosphere. This affects the dimensional stability of the floor badly, which emanates wide gaps between boards, cupped edges, crowning edges, and bulking of boards. Hence, the main intention of this study was to stabilize the engineered wood flooring by filling the wood cavity with linseed oil, paraffin wax, and a mixture of both, and evaluate the physical, mechanical property of treated and non-treated engineered wood flooring boards. The treatments were conducted at different temperature and durations. Keywords: Dimensional stabilization, Wood modification, Wood floor, Linseed oil, Paraffin wax, Impregnation

Strand-Based Engineered Wood Products in Construction

Strand-based engineered wood products (EWPs) have been widely employed in construction since their emergence in the 1970s. The use of strand-based EWPs can significantly increase the yield of forest resources by utilizing submarginal logs and branches. In this chapter, the strand-based EWPs, including oriented strand board (OSB), laminated strand lumber (LSL), and oriented strand lumber (OSL), are discussed in terms of their fabrication, properties, and uses in construction. Specifically, the manufacturing requirements for elements (i.e., strands), such as dimension, density, and moisture content, are introduced. The major manufacturing processes, such as selection of adhesives, pressing parameters, and thickness control, are also discussed. In addition, the engineering properties and uses of these EWPs are illustrated. Furthermore, some innovative applications of these products such as hybrid cross-laminated timber are presented in this chapter.

Engineered Wood Products as a Sustainable Construction Material: A Review

Engineered wood products are considered as best building materials due to environmentally friendly. Huge change to the way in which wood has been utilized in primary application of construction in the course of the most recent 25 years are in light of decreased admittance to high strength timber from growth forests, and the turn of events and creation of various new design of manufactured wood products. Engineered wood products are available in different variety of sizes and measurements like laminated veneer lumber, glued laminated timber, finger jointed lumber, oriental strand board etc. It is utilized for rooftop and floor sheathing, solid structure, beams and the hull of boats. This review objectively explores not only the environmental aspects of the use of different engineered wood composites as a building material, but also their economic aspects, to understand their effect on sustainability.

Cradle-to-Grave Life-Cycle Assessment of Cellulosic Fiberboard

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the construction and operation of buildings accounted for nearly 38% of total global energy-related CO₂ emissions in 2019. The construction sector has been striving to use more low-carbon footprint building products to mitigate climate change and enhance environmentally preferable purchasing. Over the last several decades, there has been substantial growth in engineered wood products for the construction industry. To assess these products used in construction for their environmental profile, lifecycle assessments (LCAs) are performed. This study performed an LCA to estimate environmental impacts (cradle-to-gate and gate-to-grave) of cellulosic fiberboard (CFB) per m³ functional unit basis. The lifecycle inventory data developed were representative of CFB production in North America. Overall, the cradle-to-grave LCA results per m3 of CFB were estimated at 305 kg CO₂ e global warming (GW), 19.3 kg O₃ e photochemical smog formation, 1.03 kg SO₂ e acidification, 0.33 kg N e eutrophication, and 415 MJ fossil-fuel depletion. Except for smog formation, most environmental impacts of CFB were from cradle-to-gate. For example, 71% and 29% of total GW impacts were from cradle-to-gate and gate-to-grave lifecycle stages, respectively. The sensitivity analysis showed that reducing transport distance, on-site electricity use, natural gas for drying, and starch additives in the manufacturing phase had the most influence. Around 353 kg CO₂ e/m³ of CFB is stored as long-term carbon during CFB’s life which is higher than the total cradle-to-grave greenhouse gases (CO₂ e) emissions. Thus, the net negative GW impact of CFB (-47 kg CO₂ e/m³ of CFB) asserted its environmental advantages as an engineered wood panel construction material. Overall, the findings of the presented study would prove useful for improving the decision-making in the construction sector.

Carbon Impacts of Engineered Wood Products in Construction

Buildings and the construction sector together account for about 39% of the global energy-related CO2 emissions. Recent building designs are introducing promising new mass timber products that have the capacity to partially replace concrete and steel in traditional buildings. The inherently lower environmental impacts of engineered wood products for construction are seen as one of the key strategies to mitigate climate change through their increased use in the construction sector. This chapter synthesizes the estimated carbon benefits of using engineered wood products and mass timber in the construction sector based on insights obtained from recent Life Cycle Assessment studies in the topic area of reduced carbon emissions and carbon sequestration/storage.

Effect of stud material and structural properties on the transmission loss of partitions

A common light frame wall design is gypsum wall board (GWB) cladding on each side of a row of studs. Steel studs are available in a variety of metal thicknesses and designs, and wood studs can be solid lumber or engineered wood composite studs with a variety of structural properties. Most published laboratory testing on these walls uses only a small subset of the available stud types, and the acoustical effect of changes to the stud parameters is not well understood. The authors and colleagues have performed several laboratory testing programs to systematically investigate the acoustical effects of stud properties, some of which were presented at Internoise 2020. This paper analyzes the effects of stud material and structural properties on third-octave transmission loss values and single-number ratings.