30 Research Highlights - Advanced Composites

Packaging research conducted at the Forest Products Laboratory is aimed at developing fully biobased composites containing cellulose nanomaterials for packaging applications. Cellulose nanomaterials exhibit a number of interesting properties and have ...

Among current endeavors to explore renewable energy technologies, photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting holds great promise for conversion of solar energy to chemical energy. Light absorption, charge separation, and appropriate interfacial redox ...

Moisture is the underlying cause of numerous durability issues in forest products, including decay, lack of dimensional stability, and fastener corrosion. An improved understanding of where and how water is absorbed in wood nanostructure will acceler ...

Plywood and laminated veneer lumber are built from wood veneers. Because the test for surface quality of the veneer was not very useful, Forest Service scientists developed a quick, easy method that tells us how to determine what veneers will make st ...

Soybeans were used to glue the first plywood but were replaced by fossil-fuel-based adhesives after World War II. Scientists at the Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory have helped soy adhesives return to plywood and are helping to find more a ...

Forest Service researchers are studying the use of high-strength laminated paper composite material as a low-cost replacement for aluminum and synthetic fiber-based composite panels for a variety of applications. Through proper three-dimensional engi ...

One of the unique properties of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) are their low dimensional change with changes in temperature. Understanding the role and mechanism associated with thermal expansion within CNCs and CNC composites is important to a variety ...

Developing bioplastics as a means of moving away from non-renewable, petroleum-based products has many economic and environmental benefits. Researchers at the Forest Products Laboratory recently developed a new way to produce furylglycolic acid (FA), ...

Forest Service scientists worked with the University of Wisconsin to spin nanocellulose gels into continuous fibers so that they can be used more efficiently in advanced composites. The researchers are optimizing the spinning process and investigatin ...

Solar cells fabricated on optically transparent cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) films reach a power conversion efficiency of 2.7 percent, an unprecedented figure for cells on substrates derived from renewable raw materials. Additionally, these solar cell ...

The Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory is moving sustainable structural panel forming technology from the laboratory to commercial reality. The laboratory is working with Noble Environment Technologies of San Diego through a cooperative rese ...

Cooperation with Finnish researchers results in new understanding of relationships between veneer processing, veneer properties, and product failure. ...

Scientists determine the dimensional stability of wood-plastic composites can be improved by treating wood sawdust and particles derived from beetle-killed trees with potassium methyl siliconate before incorporating the wood into high-density polyeth ...

Perfectly good adhesives may be wrongly discarded after failing a performance test when in actuality the veneer caused the failure. ...

Naturally bonded boards can use fibers produced from a variety of renewable sources including wood from forest thinnings and recycled paper fibers ...

Wood-plastic composites treated with fire retardants addresses fire concerns in the wildland-urban interface ...

Adding microsized glass particles to wood-plastic composites creates a less dense but stiffer material for use in a variety of building applications ...

FPL researchers used a two-prong strategy to enhance weathering properties of wood. This dual treatment showed promise in protecting wood against the combined effects of sunlight and moisture. ...

The disposal of forest thinning residue is a concern when looking at sustainable forest management. Researchers found this material could be a valuable resource for commercially available structural panel products. ...

Soy-based adhesives developed at FPL have been commercialized and allow wood manufacturers to replace adhesives based on fossil fuel with biomass-based adhesives. ...

FPL-developed panels made from forest residuals, recycled fiber, and agricultural by-products are being commercialized by two start-up companies. ...

Internal steam pressure produced during the hot-pressing cycle in particleboard production is critical to the newly developed bond strength that will determine the overall performance of particleboard. The difference between the accumulation of inter ...

Working with a group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Biochemistry, FPL researchers have discovered mechanistic details behind some long-standing theories of wood adhesion and brown-rot fungal decay. Firstly, solution-state nucle ...

Wood-plastic composites (WPCs) represent a class of materials increasingly used in residential construction and furniture-making. The fire performance of WPCs is not well understood, however, and there is little information regarding the effectivenes ...

The Forest Products Laboratory's research using anaerobically digested agricultural waste fibers combined with recycled paper fibers to make structural panels was selected by a prominent design firm for use as the main fabrication material for the Su ...

In a cooperative project with Louisiana State University, Forest Products Laboratory researchers have used crosslinking technologies, commonly used in the cable coating industry, to optimize the performance of composites of mixed plastics and wood fl ...

The project takes a closer look at chunkwood processing first developed in 1977 at the Northern Research Station lab in Houghton, MI. Branches and tree tops as small as 2 inch diameter are cut to 5 inch length, debarked, sliced into veneer chips and ...

Faced with worldwide shortages of forest resources, environmental pollution and waste of biological resources resulting from field burning of rice straw and other agriculture residues, there has been a revival of interest in using rice straw and othe ...

With support from industry partners, FPL researchers are developing new sol-gel technologies to enhance performance properties of wood or wood fiber. Sol-gel technologies are wet-chemical techniques that are widely used in the fields of materials sci ...

Ashland- Hercules, working cooperatively with the Forest Products Laboratory, have developed these soy adhesives and have commercialized them for interior plywood, engineered wood flooring and particleboard. This technology also allows wood manufactu ...