HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Discussion Forums > Engineering


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #1  
Old Posted Oct 23, 2018, 8:35 PM
M II A II R II K's Avatar
M II A II R II K M II A II R II K is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Toronto
Posts: 52,200
Scientists Create Artificial Wood That Is Water And Fire Resistant

Scientists Create Artificial Wood That Is Water And Fire Resistant


November 2018

By Sid Perkins

Read More: https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...ire-resistant/

Quote:
A new lightweight substance is as strong as wood yet lacks its standard vulnerabilities to fire and water. To create the synthetic wood, scientists took a solution of polymer resin and added a pinch of chitosan, a sugar polymer derived from the shells of shrimp and crabs. They freeze-dried the solution, yielding a structure filled with tiny pores and channels supported by the chitosan. Then they heated the resin to temperatures as high as 200 degrees Celsius to cure it, forging strong chemical bonds.

- The resulting material, described in August in Science Advances, is as crush-resistant as wood, says author Shu-Hong Yu, a materials chemist at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei. Faster freeze-drying creates even smaller channels and pores, which further strengthens the material, Yu says. And higher curing temperatures increase bonding within the resin and increase the material's strength, the team found. Adding human-made or natural fibers to the mix could also help. — Unlike natural wood, the new material does not require years to grow. Moreover, it readily repels water—samples soaked in water and in a strong acid bath for 30 days scarcely weakened, whereas samples of balsa wood tested under similar conditions lost two thirds of their strength and 40 percent of their crush resistance. The new material was also difficult to ignite and stopped burning when it was removed from the flame.

.....



__________________
ASDFGHJK
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2018, 12:25 PM
aaron38's Avatar
aaron38 aaron38 is offline
312
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Palatine
Posts: 4,127
Interesting. Can it be cut, sanded, nailed, drilled, etc like wood? Can they make artificial 2x4s?
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #3  
Old Posted Jan 17, 2020, 8:47 AM
Visionist's Avatar
Visionist Visionist is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 250
It needs a name!

Plastcrete?
Reply With Quote
     
     
End
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Discussion Forums > Engineering
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 10:10 PM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.