CIVE40007 Materials Flashcards
(263 cards)
What percentage of wood used in the UK is produced here?
~32%
Which wood type is mainly used in construction?
Hardwood ? Softwood ?
Softwood (Caniferous)
Advantages of wood in construction?
- Excellent combination of physical properties
- High compressive and tensile strength
- Relatively low density
- Readily available
- Relatively low cost
- Good thermal properties
- Good durability under certain conditions
- Predictable fire behaviour
- Sustainable material if harvested from a sustainable forest
- Compatible with other engineering materials
- Aesthetically pleasing
Disadvantages of wood in construction ?
- Many different types with widely different properties
- Certain level of variability in performance
- Properties vary in different directions
- Wood often contains inherent flaws
- Significant waste generated from each tree
- Durability can be poor under partially wet conditions (in soil)
- Attacked by certain insects, bacteria and fungi
- Transport costs – forests are often not near markets
- Need to dry before use
- Dimensional stability
- Fire performance
Is wood a sustainable material ?
- Only if sustainable foresting methods are used
- only renewable construction material
- Low embodied energy consumption
- Low in-use energy consumption
due to low thermal conductivity - 1 m^3 wood stores about 1 tonne of CO2
- organic, non-toxic
- Over 90% of all wood consumed in Europe is sourced from European forests
- Forests act as huge carbon sinks
How can wood be used sustainably in construction?
- Sustainable forest – using recognised harvesting principles and crop rotation techniques.
- Low embodied energy - since it is significantly less resource intensive during production from a raw material to a usable construction material
- excellent insulating material
- good energy efficiency
- reduces the ‘energy footprint’ of a building
What is the FSC?
Wood
non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests, to combat both illegal, unethical and environmentally damaging logging.
Give the composition of dry wood
% weight, state, origin & function
- Cellulose - 50% - Crystalline state - from Glucose - acts as microfibre
- Lignin - 25%- amorphous - Phenyl-propane - Matrix
- Hemicellulose and pectin - 20% - Semi-crystalline - from Galactose Mannose Xylose - acts as matrix
- Extractives - 5% - monomeric - Terpenes, Phenolics - Toxicity
Therefore, ~70% weight carbohydrate (cellulose & hemicellulose)
Explain the structure of glucose
Wood
(50% of the dry weight of the earth’s biomass is in the form of glucose polymers)
- ring structure
- β linkages in cellulose to form polysaccharides - strong to form microfibrils
- cellulose composed of glucose units
- (C6H10O5)n
- crystalline polymer of glucose
What is the difference between hemicellulose & cellulose?
Hemicellulose is similar to cellulose but with different sugar monomers
Describe Lignin
- Lignin is a massive random polymer of phenylpropane alcohol
- Non-biodegradable part of wood
Describe process of wood drying
either kiln or air drying
as cut, wood ~85% moisture content
What is the difference between heartwood and sapwood ?
- Colour (sometimes)
– Durability
– Permeability
– But not strength
Sapwood outer layer (in from bark)
Heartwood inner core
Describe the microstructure of wood ?
- multi-component
- hygroscopic
- anisotropic
- inhomogeneous
- discontinuous
- inelastic
- fibrous
- porous
- biodegradable
- renewable
Is wood a heterogenius structure ?
No, very different properties across and along the grain
Along grain : high compressive & tensile strength, weak shear
Across grain : weak compressive & tensile strength, strong shear
Is wood an inelastic or elastic material ?
Inelastic
Loading and unloading curves do not correspond – viscoelasticity
Due to lignin which is an amorphous polymer
What are the attaks on wood that reduce durability?
fungal decay; dry & wet rot
bio-deteriation by micro-organisms / insects
How does wood strength vary with moisture content?
higher moisture content, lower compressive strength
(since water weakens inter-fibre bonding)
What are plastics ?
- organic materials
- carbon based
- derived from finite crude oil resources
- monomers -> polymerisation -> polymers
When & what was the first synthetic plastic ?
Bakelite in 1907
What bonding forms polymers?
Covelant bonding (sharing electrons)
what is electro-negativity ? what is the rough electro negativity of the elements that form polymers ?
electron attrating potential of an element
C, H, N, O, P, S close to 2.5
What is the source of most plastics ?
crude oil (hydrocarbons & non-hydrocarbons)
What are the two classifications of polymers ?
thermoplastics & thermosetting plastics
the behavioral difference due to their molecular structure / microstructure