Scientists from around the world have been working furiously in developing a new generation of smart materials and products. from smart steel (developed & recently patented by the Germans) to smart micro and nanomaterials with unique new-to-the-world properties (numerous scientists from around the world). Research in tradional material areas however has not seen the same R&D focus to "design-in smarts" - to make them more intelligent.
Canada, which has been blessed with a traditional resource market economy (wood, coal, oil, gas, mining) has not traditionally been a world leader in this area of breakthrough research, until possibly now.
Concrete Wood
British Columbia is facing a big question: what to do with the billions of trees killed by the mountain pine beetle? Grad student Sorin Pasca doesn’t have the whole answer but he has a concrete suggestion.
Beyond lumber and plywood, a research team comprised of Sorin Pasca and professors Ron Thring and Ian Hartley has discovered that mountain pine beetle (MPB) wood actually works as an excellent ingredient for producing concrete. Concrete is made by mixing cement with water and aggregate. Usually, the aggregate consists of stones or rocks, but MPB wood is a new option.
“Normally, cement repels organic materials, such as wood,” says Pasca, who recently completed his master’s degree at UNBC by researching this topic. “But for some reason, cement sticks to lodgepole pine and this compatibility is even stronger when the tree has been killed – or you could say, enhanced – by the mountain pine beetle.”
Pasca’s research involved using three sizes of wood chips and three combinations of wood-to-cement ratios, for a total of nine different mixtures. These mixtures were created in a lab, poured into a mold, and left to cure. What emerged were boards that looked like a cross between plywood and concrete. You can drive a nail into them without pre-drilling. You can cut them with regular woodworking tools. They’re water-resistant. They’re stronger than many similar products currently on the market.
“The original idea was to see if a wood-cement product could be a replacement for drywall, or gypsum board,” says Pasca. “I think it’s an excellent alternative but now that the research is complete, we’re seeing all kinds of additional applications, from countertops to flooring. It’s a beautiful product that combines all of the structural advantages of concrete with the aesthetic quality of wood.”
The processs of making concrete wood is "green and sustainable."
Full story here>>[...]
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