Treesearch

Mass timber construction often has low tolerances due to offsite manufacturing and fabrication. However, due to dimensional tolerances of the natural material as well as the shrinking and expansion due to moisture changes, gaps typically form between members. These gaps can be up to 6 mm and current standards and codes require fire caulking of the gaps regardless of their sizes. In addition, prescriptive char models indicate that significant charring can occur within these gaps thereby reducing the load-carrying capacity of the structural components and providing a potential pathway for...

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent synthetic pollutants that resist degradation due to strong carbon–fluorine bonds, posing risks to ecosystems and human health through bioaccumulation, toxicity, and carcinogenicity. Adsorption has emerged as a cost-effective remediation approach, with biomass-based adsorbents offering sustainable alternatives to conventional materials due to their low cost and tunable surface chemistry. Reported adsorption capacities vary widely depending on material design. This review critically examines recent advances in the functionalization...

BackgroundThe increasing demand for sustainable, high-performance packaging has driven interest in multilayer films combining a cellulose nanomaterial (CNM) core layer with plastic outer layers. In these designs, the polar CNM core layer provides effective oxygen barrier properties, while non-polar plastics serve as protective layers against water vapor. This complementary structure enables improved recyclability and supports the development of circular packaging solutions.Scope and approachThis review overview recent advances in preparation strategies, material interactions, and performanc...

Agroforestry systems are increasingly recognized as providing multiple economic, ecological, and social benefits. These benefits have led to increases in agroforestry adoption across many regions of the world. Understanding which benefits lead producers to adopt agroforestry, or which challenges discourage adoption, is of critical importance to advance agroforestry implementation. This meta-analysis reviewed agroforestry adoption studies published between January 2000 and June 2024 and identified 94 observations from 76 econometric studies, encompassing research from 30 countries. Trends...

Mass timber construction results in small gaps at abutting members due to construction tolerances and varying moisture conditions, among other reasons. These intersections, typically at connections, may have detrimental impacts on the fire performance of a structure causing loss of fire integrity earlier in the fire and thereby enabling the spread of fire. However, there has been a lack of testing to explore the effects of these gaps on the fire behaviour of mass timber, particularly at cross laminated timber (CLT) panel-to-panel connections. To investigate the fire behaviour of CLT with...

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is an engineered wood product that is being increasingly utilized in structural applications. However, its susceptibility to fungal decay and termite attack raises concerns about long-term durability, particularly in high-moisture and insect-prone environments. This study evaluates the biological durability of CLT fabricated with southern pine and treated post-layup with two copper-based preservatives: copper azole (CA-C) and micronized copper azole (MCA) under laboratory conditions. Fungal decay resistance was assessed using brown-rot (Serpula lacrymans) and...

Measurement errors can catastrophically bias parameter estimates in models to correlate nanoscale properties and structures, undercutting a foundation of nanoscience and nanotechnology. In a general solution to this latent problem, we derive a method-of-moments correction for least-squares estimates of correlative model parameters. Our correction applies to many relations of dependent and independent variables, subject to many types of measurement errors of the independent variable. Focusing on the prevalent power-law model to correlate optical intensity and nanoparticle size, we test the...

Mass timber (MT) is among the most sustainable construction materials for building structures. While U.S. building codes facilitate MT construction up to 18 stories of height, the frequent international sourcing of MT raises sustainability concerns regarding transportation emissions. Previous research relies primarily on deterministic whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA), which lacks the mechanisms to balance environmental impacts with competing economic and logistical factors under uncertainty. To address this, we developed a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework that...

Asphalt pavements are an underexplored platform for carbon management because their production and maintenance are energy intensive over long service lives. Here, we redefine biomass-derived asphalt systems not simply as sustainable additives but as carbon-storage material platforms that enable partial substitution of fossil-derived binders while keeping biogenic carbon in durable infrastructure. We propose a molecular-level framework linking biomass-derived carbon structures with asphalt colloidal fractions, emphasizing how aromaticity, polarity, and functional groups regulate compatibilit...

The production of biodegradable coatings using aqueous suspensions of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and solutions of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) is costly due to the energy expenses associated with evaporating water. To address this issue, CNF-PVOH composite coatings were prepared through a two-step filtration process, where a low basis weight CNF coating was formed during the first filtration, acting as a matrix that absorbed PVOH in the second filtration. The CNFs used in this study were fibrillated by refining, maintaining some fiber presence, which made the material more economical while...