I-Corps: Recycled plastic lumber building material replacement for structural lumber

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种可回收的塑料建筑材料，作为结构木材的替代品。这种提议的材料在成本上与木材相似，可以提供相同的安装方法，可以减轻重量，并且可以防止由于腐烂和昆虫造成的损坏。拟议的初始应用是美国农业栅栏桩市场：2.06亿线性英尺的栅栏或每年1500万个栅栏桩。按照目前的木材价格，这个市场的当前价值估计为9800万美元。目标行业软木锯材在美国的市场价值约为390亿美元。根据最初的客户采访，木栅栏柱子通常可以使用10-20年。所提出的材料中使用的聚合物的使用寿命为30-50年，大大降低了最终用户的未来成本。此外，木材使用量的减少可以减少美国每年1000万英亩的森林砍伐。目标是开发一种直接替代木材的材料，同时利用低成本的回收材料，并提供与木材相似或更低的价格。这个I-Corps项目的基础是开发一种复合材料，该材料与木材中使用的钉子和其他紧固件的驱动力和拔出力相匹配。提议的材料利用过护套挤压技术来增加截面的总机械强度，以及由提议的材料组成的中空复合材料。这项创新需要增加摩擦系数，同时降低抗压强度，以便手工驱动钉子。过护套挤压必须重新配置，以允许大块复合材料与宏观钢筋共挤压，这类似于钢筋混凝土中使用的加固方法。这些要求必须保持，同时考虑到空心部分，以降低材料成本。该项目旨在更好地了解基于聚合物基复合材料的添加剂或填料的影响。填料的优点包括降低成本、增加刚度和增加抗压强度，它们在聚合物工业中的使用量也在增加。未来的活动将集中在引入填料，以增加机械紧固连接中的摩擦。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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 I-Corps project is the development of a recycled plastic building material intended as a drop-in replacement for structural lumber. This proposed material is similar in cost to lumber and may provide equivalent installation methods, may reduce weight, and may prevent damage due to rot and insects. The proposed initial application is the US agricultural fence post market: 206 million linear feet of fencing or 15 million fence posts annually. Using current lumber prices, this market is estimated to have a current value of $98 million. The softwood sawn dimensional lumber, the targeted industry, has an approximate market value of $39 billion in the United States. Based on initial customer interviews, wood fence posts typically last 10-20 years. The polymers utilized in the proposed material have a useful life of 30-50 years, significantly reducing future costs for end users. Additionally, the reduction in wood usage could reduce the 10 million acres of forest harvested for fence posts each year in the United States. The goal is to develop a material that directly replaces lumber while utilizing low-cost recycled materials and providing a similar or reduced price compared to lumber.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a composite material that matches the driving force and withdrawal force of nails and other fasteners used in wood. The proposed material utilizes an over jacketing extrusion technique to increase the gross mechanical strength of the section as well as a hollow composite composed of the proposed materials. The innovation requires an increase in the coefficient of friction while reducing the compressive strength to allow for nails to be driven by hand. Over jacketing extrusion must be reconfigured to allow for coextrusion of the bulk composite material with macro-reinforcement, which is similar to the reinforcement method used in reinforced concrete. These requirements must be maintained while allowing for a hollow section to reduce material costs. The project seeks an improved understanding of the influence of additives or fillers based on polymer-based composites. Fillers provide advantages including reduced costs, increased stiffness, and increased compressive strength, and their usage has increased in the polymer industry. Futrue activities will focus on the introduction of fillers for increased friction in mechanically fastened connections.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.