Just wondering if anyone has seen or heard about this new product? I have heard of heat treated wood and etc., but this is the first time I have heard about something that will make wood that's stronger than steel. I am curious as to how they cut this and how practical it is to use in application. Won't it dull sawblades rather quickly for example? No idea on how this will be priced, but anyone have thoughts on this new product?
Company Statement on InventWood: InventWood, a Maryland startup, is about to start mass-producing “Superwood,” a new kind of treated wood that’s 50% stronger than steel and 10 times tougher than natural wood. Developed by University of Maryland scientists using a special two-step densification process, this superwood is made by chemically removing parts of the wood and then hot-pressing it to create tightly packed cellulose fibers. The result is a lightweight, fire-resistant, and pest-proof material that could replace steel and titanium in buildings, cars, and airplanes.
Unlike heavy metals, Superwood is renewable and cheaper, and can be made from fast-growing softwoods like pine or balsa, making it more sustainable. Initially, it will be used for building facades but will soon move into structural uses. The company has raised $15 million to build a factory, with shipments expected later this year.
I find this part of the company statement interesting.
The result is a lightweight, fire-resistant, and pest-proof material that could replace steel and titanium in buildings, cars, and airplanes.
If true it could make buildings safer and more resistant to collapse due to fire impingement on structural members. Something I had to be very aware of during my career.
Russ
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Yeah, hard to separate actual performance from marketing claims at this point. My first thought when I saw this, is I know there are a few European countries, particularly the Nordic ones that do A LOT of building with wood rather than steel, concrete, etc. I have even seen quite large public buildings and large apartment structures build almost exclusively out of wood. They really are quite impressive and I forgot how they achieve fire resistance there because that is one of the bigger concerns of a mostly wood structure. The Notre-Dame fire in France is but one modern example of what can go wrong if fire resistance isn't improved with a wood structure. The wood buildings I have seen in Northern Europe are rather attractive inside and out and impressive feats of engineering. They prefer more ecological and sustainable building materials there, so they prioritize it compared to what we do here. So, I wonder if a new product like this is an improvement or not and what markets might want it. Then I thought about how/why a typical woodworker might choose a product like this, IF the cost isn't prohibitive. Though I wonder what machining it would be like to sawblades, chisels, router bits/shaper cutters, etc. IF it really is that dense then it must be difficult to mill I would imagine. Not A LOT of details to go on at the moment from the company, so we will have to see if it really enters the market or not. Just curious what others think about this as well. Thanks.
I came across this awhile back. I did look on their website to try to get a better understanding of what they were doing but it has limited info.
Stronger than steel is a very broad statement, depending on how you mean it, I'd guess there are natural woods that given the right "test" condition are already stronger than steel.
It does bring up the question, if the statement is to be broadly accepted...how one cuts/sands/ etc...unless it is some form of a molding process which results in a beam that is already final length/width/height. If so, this would be quite capex intensive compared to the way we do things with natural woods (cut on site) .
Digging deeper on their website the actual claim is "up to 10x the strength to weight of steel" and "6x lighter than steel". If I did my math right that means the strength claim is actually 10/6 = 1-2/3 times stronger than steel. Still sounds impressive but don't know if they are comparing compressive, tensile, or shear strengths.
- Matanuska
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In a building application, load deflection is the most common measure of strength. I believe that douglas fir in its natural state has a considerable strength to weight advantage over steel for structural spans.
RF Guy