"NET-Wood": plywood of a new and convincing stability
Fig 1: Schematic illustration of the NET-Wood structure. (Source: MBM ScienceBridge GmbH)
“NET-Wood" is a sustainable composite material made of natural fiber fabric and wood veneers. In this process, the two types of material are laminated in an alternating sequence with the addition of modifiers or adhesives to form a composite material. Due to the composition of these materials combined with special pretreatment methods, significant changes in mechanical properties and dimensional stability are expected compared to conventional laminated wood products.
Challenge
Typical of laminated wood products such as plywood are the significant differences in the directional dependence of the fiber orientation: the tensile and shear tensile strengths are usually significantly higher in the fiber direction of the face layers than in the grain direction of the face layers. Thus, plywood products show significant orthotropic differences and its use in certain constructions is limited.
Our Solution
Scientists at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts have developed NET-Wood - a sustainable composite material. This composite presents a material combination of wood veneers and natural fiber materials of all kinds. The inclusion of woven layers of natural fibers between the veneer layers, as well as a higher loading of individual composite layers with modifiers through plasma pretreatment, is able to compensate the orthotropic differences in material properties typical of wood veneer materials in the new wood composite NET-Wood.
Advantages
Fig. 2: Tensile strength of plywood versus NET-Wood. (Source: MBM ScienceBridge GmbH)
- Improved stability
- Improved absorption of the impregnating agent after plasma treatment
- Simple, fast and safe application
- New areas of application for the plywood
Applications
As with plywood, there is also a wide range of applications for NET-Wood. NET-Wood can be used in applications that need high-quality, like resistance to breaking, cracking and twisting as well as high-strength sheet material.
Development Status
Successfull proof of concept for plywood boards achieved under laboratory test conditions.
Patent Status
We have pending patent applications in DE and EP in the name of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Göttingen, Germany. We are looking for licensing partners.
References
Wascher et al.: Plywood made from plasma-treated venners: melamine uptake, dimensional stability, and mechanical properties, Journal of Wood Science 63, 338-349 (2017)
Contact
Dr. Vanessa Jensen
Patent Manager Life Sciences
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel.: +49-551-30724149
Reference: BioT-2173-HAWK
