Treesearch

The U.S. Army depends heavily on wood packaging materials (WPMs) for the storage and transport of ammunition, yet these materials are highly susceptible to mold growth under the damp, poorly ventilated conditions of the buildings used for storage. Despite wooden ammunition boxes being treated to military specifications, mold growth persists and, therefore, there is a need for improved evaluation methods for mold prevention. This project adapted the full-size commodity termite test (AWPA E21-18) into a field-based mold exposure setup. It was intended to replicate the high‑moisture conditions...

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...

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...

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...

Production of Cross-laminated timber (CLT), which is the most widely used mass timber product, for use in largescale building construction has been increasing as an alternative to traditional building materials. While knowledge on the environmental and engineering aspects of mass timber, such as CLT, has been well documented in wood science and engineering literature, little is established regarding the social, economic, and policy aspects. Peer-reviewed publications were examined to establish current knowledge and future research gaps for cross-laminated timber and mass timber systems....

Food packaging is the largest segment of the global plastics market, yet its low degradability and limited performance in preserving perishable goods highlight the need for more sustainable alternatives. This study investigates the use of industrial softwood kraft lignin, a renewable polyol, and γ-valerolactone (GVL), an excellent green lignin solvent, to synthesize bio-based polyurethane (PU) coatings for recycled linerboard. PU was synthesized with hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), GVL, and 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) as a catalyst and applied to recycled linerboard (166.6...