PFI-RP: Manufacture of Durable and Stable Cross-Laminated Strand-Veneer Lumber for Mass Timber Construction

这个PFI项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种商业上可行的工艺，用低价值和未充分利用的小直径针叶树制造高性能、耐用的大批量原木面板，用于建筑，例如从危险燃料稀疏作业中生产，以改善森林健康。更广泛的影响是：(1)通过将学生和教师纳入研究，在促进教学、培训和学习的同时促进发现和理解；(2)通过在跨学科但互补的学术和行业利益相关者之间建立合作，加强研究和教育的基础设施；(3)通过让工业界和学术界参与研究，扩大研究传播以增进理解，在不同的媒体来源发布项目结果，并以多种形式展示研究成果，使林产品行业的广泛利益相关者受益；以及(4)提高美国林产工业的经济竞争力。此外，如果这种概念验证研究导致商业应用，对社会的好处是：(1)减少环境影响、提高耐用性和更长使用寿命的新产品；(2)通过创造新的就业机会和增加潜在出口机会来提高美国林产工业竞争力的技术；以及(3)增加木材的使用，木材是一种环保、可再生、可持续和固碳的材料。拟议的项目解决了交叉层压木材(CLT)板在大规模木材建筑中面临的挑战。目前，施工需要极其小心，以防止CLT面板受潮，同时确保长期耐用性。尽管建筑商采取措施减少潮湿暴露，但CLT电池板在其使用寿命期间不可避免地会吸水。该项目解决了这些问题，利用热改性生产不含化学物质的大量木质板材，提高了防潮和耐腐蚀性，并改善了尺寸稳定性。其目的是：(1)评估小直径木材单板热改性的工艺-性能关系；(2)论证制造高性能交叉层压单板(CLSVL)大批量木材板材的可行性。其目的是：(1)论证利用热改性层压单板材生产高性能CLSVL面板的可行性，以及(2)确定新的CLSVL面板对环境的潜在影响。技术成果包括验证热修改小直径松材的可重复工艺，验证制造CLSVL板材的方法，验证CLSVL板材的物理和机械性能，以及建立商业上可行的过程-性能关系以实现CLSVL大批量木材板材的商业生产。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this PFI project is in development of a commercially-viable process for manufacturing high-performing, durable mass strand timber panels for building construction from low-value and underutilized small-diameter softwood trees, such as from hazardous fuel thinning operations for improved forest health. The broader impacts are: (1) advancement of discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning by including students and faculty in the research; (2) enhancement of infrastructure for research and education by establishing collaborations between interdisciplinary, yet complementary academic and industry stakeholders; (3) broadening of research dissemination to enhance understanding by involving industry and academia in the research, publishing project results in diverse media sources, and presenting research results in several formats that will benefit a wide range of forest products industry stakeholders; and (4) improved economic competitiveness of the U.S. forest products industry. In addition, if this proof-of-concept research leads to commercial applications, the benefits to society are: (1) new products with reduced environmental impacts, improved durability, and longer service-life; (2) technology that increases the U.S. forest products industry's competitiveness through creation of new jobs and increased opportunities for potential exports; and (3) increased use of wood, an environmentally-friendly, renewable, sustainable, and carbon-sequestering material.The proposed project addresses challenges facing cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels in mass timber construction. Construction currently requires extreme care to protect CLT panels from moisture while ensuring long-term durability. Although builders take measures to reduce moisture exposure, it is inevitable that the CLT panels will take on water during their service-life. This project addresses these problems by utilizing thermal modification to produce chemical-free, mass timber panels with increased resistance to moisture and decay and improved dimensional stability. The goals are to: (1) evaluate process-performance relationships for thermal modification of small-diameter wood strands, and (2) demonstrate the feasibility of manufacturing high-performance cross-laminated strand-veneer lumber (CLSVL) mass timber panels. The objectives are to: (1) demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing thermally modified laminated strand veneer lumber for production of high-performance CLSVL panels, and (2) determine the potential environmental impacts of the new CLSVL panels. The technical results include validation of a repeatable process for thermally modifying small-diameter pine strands, validation of a method for manufacturing CLSVL panels, verification of physical and mechanical performance of the CLSVL panels, and establishment of commercially-viable process-performance relationships to enable commercial production of the CLSVL mass timber panels.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.