2007 Research Highlights

Research Area:
Forest Service Strategic Goal 6: Conduct mission-related work in addition to that which supports the agency goals.
SPA: Resource Management and Use

Development of Advanced Bio-based Composites

Key Contact: Zhiyong Cai, zcai@fs.fed.us

Wood- and bio-based composites are increasingly visible in the marketplace. Although existing composites exhibit many desirable characteristics as a renewable engineering material they lack of water resistance, dimensional stability, and durability represent major drawbacks. There is a need for research efforts to be focused on improving their performance. As a fast growing renewable bio-based material, bamboo offers advantages over many conventional building materials. Its high-density strength — in some ways stronger than steel, concrete, and aluminum — is due to its high content of silicates, essentially the glass-like substance found in sand. Bamboo can be manufactured into kinds of top-grade housing materials to meet different performances by introducing the advanced combination, restructuring technologies. Recently, new bamboo composites (panel and beam) with different processing have been investigated at US Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. The new bamboo composites show excellent mechanical properties. The modulus of elasticity of a bamboo beam is 35.2 x 10 6 KPa (5.1 x 10 6 psi), which is higher than most existing wood composites. The result from the recent standard hurricane impact test shows the bamboo composite could provide environmentally-friendly and economic solution to built safe and hurricane resistant houses.

Yes (www.fpl.fs.fed.us See video in Focus Areas section under heading “Advanced Composites”)