12-12-2019, 10:04 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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TL9+ Wood [Ultratech]
So, I just read an article in Scientific American about how scientists have figured out how to increase the strength of wood by 50x (making it as strong as carbon fibers) by a process that triples its density at 5% to cost of making carbon fibers. It is called densified wood. What types of applications do you think an advanced society would use densified wood for?
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12-13-2019, 06:31 AM | #2 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: TL9+ Wood [Ultratech]
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What people are actually hoping for from densified wood is that it will be cheap. Cellulose bioplastics are on the more expensive end of plastics, if they were dirt cheap, they probably would have more applications, not as wonder materials but for the same kind of large scale applications we see other cheap materials (like say wood, or concrete, or mild steel) used for.
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12-13-2019, 07:19 AM | #3 |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: TL9+ Wood [Ultratech]
It would be used the same way wood is, as a structural material, it would just be stronger. It probably wouldn't have a high demand for furniture, being heavy for its volume, but if it's more resilient than normal wood it may replace wood paneling (for floors, walls, etc). It's likely to be more aesthetically pleasing than steel and the like (provided the compression doesn't eliminate the grain), of course, which will make it good for visible supports.
It's probably harder to burn than normal wood (less surface area), but is still a fire hazard, unlike most metals. That's something to consider when using it for buildings (or vehicles).
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12-13-2019, 08:26 AM | #4 | |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: TL9+ Wood [Ultratech]
Quote:
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12-13-2019, 10:26 AM | #5 | |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: TL9+ Wood [Ultratech]
Quote:
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12-13-2019, 11:02 AM | #6 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: TL9+ Wood [Ultratech]
It is comparable strength to carbon fibers per mass, but it is 5% the cost. They are anticipating using it to replace the structural components of cars.
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12-13-2019, 11:38 AM | #7 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: TL9+ Wood [Ultratech]
https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...-s-super-wood/ appears likely to be the article being talked about. The indicated performance looks comparable to HDPE.
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12-13-2019, 12:59 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: TL9+ Wood [Ultratech]
Not quite, densitied wood is 3x the density of HDPE and around 10x the strength of HDPE.
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12-13-2019, 01:10 PM | #9 |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
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Re: TL9+ Wood [Ultratech]
I'm looking at what I believe is the original paper.
The various number increases highlighted are in the range of x7.5 to x12. I'm not sure where the x50 is coming from. Strength is not a specific term. There is tensile strength and there is compressive strength, and even together they don't tell the full story. I hope someone better at materials science than I can look at the numbers in the paper. I don't doubt its a nice substance, but it doesn't look anything like the holy grail of building materials to me. What would I use it for? Study furniture is the application I immediately think of. I don't think it enables any new structure types, just different materials replacing existing ones. If its really practical and cheaper than structural steel, It will get incorporated into all sorts of things. I don't think it will replace tools, but you'd see ladders, furniture, buildings, and bridges made out of it. If it performs as hyped, Someone will build a yet taller skyscraper with it. And try to break some bridge length records.
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12-13-2019, 01:10 PM | #10 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: TL9+ Wood [Ultratech]
The quoted performance for bullet resistance is "slightly worse than a similar thickness of Kevlar". That is inferior to UHMWPE (often just referred to as HDPE) of the types used for body armor.
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