Wood-based composite materials for ultralight lens antennas in 6G systems

Extremely high frequencies used in future wireless communication systems such as 6G require low loss materials to avoid wasting power and maintain acceptable efficiency . Furthermore, especially in the internet...

Fire Behavior of Wood-Based Composite Materials

Wood-based composites such as wood plastic composites (WPC) are emerging as a sustainable and excellent performance materials consisting of wood reinforced with polymer matrix with a variety of applications in construction industries. In this context, wood-based composite materials used in construction industries have witnessed a vigorous growth, leading to a great production activity. However, the main setbacks are their high flammability during fires. To address this issue, flame retardants are utilized to improve the performance of fire properties as well as the flame retardancy of WPC material. In this review, flame retardants employed during manufacturing process with their mechanical properties designed to achieve an enhanced flame retardancy were examined. The addition of flame retardants and manufacturing techniques applied were found to be an optimum condition to improve fire resistance and mechanical properties. The review focuses on the manufacturing techniques, applications, mechanical properties and flammability studies of wood fiber/flour polymer/plastics composites materials. Various flame retardant of WPCs and summary of future prospects were also highlighted.

Rheological Relaxation of OSB Beams Reinforced with CFRP Composites

An experimental and analytical approach to the relaxation problem of wood-based materials—OSB (Oriented Strand Boards—pressed wood-based composite panels) beams, including beams with CFRP (Carbon fiber reinforced polymer) tape composite reinforcement, is presented. It is a relevant engineering and scientific problem due to the fact that wood and wood-based materials, as well as composite reinforcements, are widely used in building constructions. Their rheological properties are very important and complicated to estimate. A 10 day long relaxation test of thick OSB beams without reinforcement and with CFRP tape was performed. A four-point bending test with five different bending levels was performed, during which the reduction of the loading force was measured. A five-parameter rheological model was used to describe the rheology of the beams. The equations of this model were calculated with the use of Laplace transform, whereas the values of the parameters were calculated based on the experimental relaxation curves. A high correlation between experimental and theoretical results was obtained. A beam reinforced with CFRP tape was treated as a system with a viscoelastic element (OSB) and an elastic element (CFRP), joined together without the possibility of slipping. The equations of the mathematical model were calculated based on the assumptions of the linear theory of viscoelasticity and the convolution integral. A good correlation between experimental and theoretical results was obtained. A significant redistribution of stresses was observed during the relaxation of the reinforced beam. The reinforced beams show a higher stiffness of approximately 63% and carry proportionally higher loads than unreinforced beams at the same deflection values.

Wood-Based Composites: Innovation towards a Sustainable Future

The term wood-based composite (WBC) is used to define a wide range of products in which wood is bonded together with other wooden or non-wooden materials [...]

Chemical and Structural Characterization of Poplar and Black Pine Wood Exposed to Short Thermal Modification

In this study, poplar and black pine wood was exposed to short thermal treatments, aiming to improve some crucial properties. Using wet chemical analyses and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), the influence of these treatments on the chemical composition of the modified species was investigated, as well as on the wood structure, using scanning electron microscopy. With the increase of heat treatment intensity, a mass loss of both species was recorded, attributed to the moisture loss and degradation of volatile compounds, as well as thermally less stable components. In the first treatment stages, the extractives presented a decrease, whereas with the duration and temperature increase, new extractives were formed. Lignin increased its network through ramification, especially at 200 ºC, while holocellulose was found lower in all modified wood categories of both species than in unmodified wood due to the intense decomposition of hemicelluloses. The findings of FT-IR analyses were in line with the chemical analysis results. The thermal modification process made wood materials more hydrophobic and dimensionally stable, providing protection against decomposing factors. At the same time, they were not intensively thermo-degraded, which increased their utilization perspectives and application range as solid wood of enhanced properties, or as wood particles/fibers participating as raw materials in wood-based composite products, wood-polymers composites etc., enhancing their materials compatibility, properties and performance.

Evaluation of the Influence of the Conditions of Catalytic Continuous Steam Explosive Activation of Wood on the Physical and Operational Properties of Wooded Composite Materials Based on Activated Fibers

This article presents the results of studies of obtaining wood composite board materials without binders using the method of preliminary steam explosive treatment, as well as an assessment of the impact of impregnation conditions and continuous steam explosive activation of wood on the physical and operational properties of wood-based composite materials based on activated fibers. The rational operating parameters for obtaining board wood-composite materials (WCM) have been determined. We established the influence of impregnation modes (temperature, catalyst concentration), continuous steam explosive treatment with afterwash (temperature, pressure, intensity of mechanical action), as well as the properties of activated lignocellulose fibers (composition and morphological structure) on the operational properties of WCM. The expediency of introducing a catalyst (sodium bisulfite) at the washing stage has been proved, since the introduction of sodium bisulfite during impregnation before steam explosive treatment promotes the formation of lignosulfonates in the activated material, which participate in the formation of the physical properties of WCM.

Performance and preparation of the electroless Ni wood-based composites

A wood-based composite exhibiting excellent electromagnetic shielding performance was prepared by electroless Ni plating. The properties of the material were characterized by a series of tests. The results showed that the growth route of Ni particles was first arranged along the inherent grain of the wood to form a banded metal layer. With extension of the duration of electroless plating, the growth of Ni particles gradually extended around and filled the pores between wood fibers, and finally formed flake-shape structure. The metal coatings formed a strip along the inherent grain of the wood surface and then changed into a sheet until it covered the entire wood surface. The coatings resistance was from 12 Ω to 0.5 Ω with the increase in duration of electroless plating. When the duration was 20 min, the composite coating resistance was 0.5 Ω. Here, the contact angle of composite coatings was 98.3° when the plating time was 15 min. When the wood surface was modified via two depositions of Ni, the average electromagnetic shielding value of the composites was over 80 dB in the frequency ranging from 0.3 kHz to 3.0 GHz.

Microstructure and Hydrophobic Properties of Nano-Cu-Coated Wood-Based Composites by Ultrasonic Pretreatment

The combination of nano-metal and wood to prepare copper-coated wood-based composite materials has important research value and practical significance for improving the function of wood, expanding the application field of wood, and adding added value. In this paper, 31-year-old wood (Pinus sylvestris L. var. mongholica Litv) veneer was taken as the research object. The wood veneer was pretreated by ultrasonic wave, and copper film was deposited on the surface of the wood veneer by magnetron sputtering to prepare “environmentally friendly” copper-plated wood-based composite materials. The microstructure and hydrophobic properties of Cu-coated wood-based composites were characterized and studied. With the increase in coating time, the diffraction peak intensity of wood cellulose gradually decreased, and the diffraction peaks of Cu (111), Cu (200), and Cu (220) of metallic copper appeared. Under the sputtering condition of a substrate temperature of 200 °C, the copper film deposit on the surface of the wood was uniform and densely arranged. The surface water contact angle reached 149.9°. Ultrasonic treatment increases the porous structure of wood, and the rough metal copper film interface was constructed on the surface of wood by magnetron sputtering to transform the surface wettability of the wood from hydrophilic to super-hydrophobic. The lotus leaf effect was realized on the wood surface.