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posted by Fnord666 on Friday February 09 2018, @06:10AM   Printer-friendly
from the breakfast-of-super-termites dept.

Engineers at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) have found a way to make wood more than 10 times times stronger and tougher than before, creating a natural substance that is stronger than many titanium alloys.

"This new way to treat wood makes it 12 times stronger than natural wood and 10 times tougher," said Liangbing Hu of UMD's A. James Clark School of Engineering and the leader of the team that did the research, to be published on February 8, 2018 in the journal Nature. "This could be a competitor to steel or even titanium alloys, it is so strong and durable. It's also comparable to carbon fiber, but much less expensive." Hu is an associate professor of materials science and engineering and a member of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute.

The process seems to hinge on fine-tuning the amount of lignin present in the wood.

An abstract is available but the full article is paywalled; Journal Reference:

Jianwei Song, Chaoji Chen, Shuze Zhu, Mingwei Zhu, Jiaqi Dai, Upamanyu Ray, Yiju Li, Yudi Kuang, Yongfeng Li, Nelson Quispe, Yonggang Yao, Amy Gong, Ulrich H. Leiste, Hugh A. Bruck, J. Y. Zhu, Azhar Vellore, Heng Li, Marilyn L. Minus, Zheng Jia, Ashlie Martini, Teng Li, Liangbing Hu. Processing bulk natural wood into a high-performance structural material. Nature, 2018; 554 (7691): 224 DOI: 10.1038/nature25476


Original Submission

Related Stories

Tallest Timber Tower Tipped for Tokyo 33 comments

TreeHugger reports:

Sumitomo Forestry, an industry giant in Japan, [is] pivoting to plyscrapers and proposing a 70-story, 350 meter (1148') tower for the Marunouchi district in Tokyo. It's called W350, the plan being that it will be finished in 2041, the 350th anniversary of the founding of the company.

[...] Using a hybrid 9:1 ratio of wood to steel, Sumitomo Forestry aims to replace concrete, which is one of the world's largest carbon footprint contributors. The skyscraper would be a 70-floor mixed-use building that would include a hotel, office space, commercial space, and residences. Wrap-around balconies at different intervals would be planted with lush wildlife. And greenery would extend throughout the entire complex, creating a vertical forest where humans and wildlife can flourish.

[...] It is a brace tube structure, "a structural system that forms a cylindrical shell (brace tube) with columns / beams and braces. By placing braces diagonally in a set of shafts assembled with columns and beams, it prevents the building from deforming against lateral forces such as earthquakes and wind."

The images are beautiful.

Previously: Super Wood Could Replace Steel
The Case for Wooden Skyscrapers
Can You Build A Safe, Sustainable Skyscraper Out Of Wood?


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by realDonaldTrump on Friday February 09 2018, @06:24AM (4 children)

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Friday February 09 2018, @06:24AM (#635413) Homepage Journal

    Especially in the morning. Maybe we can replace some of that Chinese steel with this VERY SPECIAL wood!

    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @06:39AM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @06:39AM (#635418)

      Like your wood has been crushed to one fifth its normal size?

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday February 09 2018, @06:58AM

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 09 2018, @06:58AM (#635427) Journal

        Works better when it fits the size of the hands.
        You know, for the frequent cases Melania is indisposed.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @12:00PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @12:00PM (#635474)

        You wouldn't believe how tight Melania still is, even after having kids.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 10 2018, @07:00AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 10 2018, @07:00AM (#635910)

          My grandpa had Melania but he died after chemotherapy.

  • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @07:13AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @07:13AM (#635432)

    What does TMB say when he wakes up in the morning?

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by krishnoid on Friday February 09 2018, @07:43AM

    by krishnoid (1156) on Friday February 09 2018, @07:43AM (#635435)

    I first read this as 'super wool' and was thinking of the possibilities of a new sheep hero that we needed, but not the one we deserved.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by anubi on Friday February 09 2018, @08:13AM (11 children)

    by anubi (2828) on Friday February 09 2018, @08:13AM (#635439) Journal

    Is this still sensitive to water, termites, and rot?

    And as far as that Chinese steel, wasn't it US who could not even refine the steel of the WTC, as our own steel plants lay rusting away in the Northeast, surrounded by unemployed steelmen surviving off the checks printed by loaning Congress money... while we apparently are investing our resources in cryptomining!

    I guess one has to be wearing a really good executive suit before any of this makes sense.

    --
    "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
    • (Score: 3, Informative) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Friday February 09 2018, @09:49AM (9 children)

      by GreatAuntAnesthesia (3275) on Friday February 09 2018, @09:49AM (#635457) Journal

      Regular wood is used extensively in building, and water, termites & rot aren't considered major problems. Presumably whatever chemical treatments we currently use to defend against those would still be applicable.
      It might even be that the very strength of the wood would be sufficient to turn away a termite's jaws, but IANAEntymologist so who knows.

      A crucial point from TFA not found in TFS: This stuff is only one sixth the weight of steel. That's a BIG deal for engineers. This could be good not only for civil engineering, but for vehicular engineering too.

      • (Score: 1) by ewk on Friday February 09 2018, @10:10AM (1 child)

        by ewk (5923) on Friday February 09 2018, @10:10AM (#635461)

        "This could be good not only for civil engineering, but for vehicular engineering too."

        Yeah, but I think that was sort of already implied by the quote "It's also comparable to carbon fiber, but much less expensive" in the TFS :-)

        --
        I don't always react, but when I do, I do it on SoylentNews
        • (Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Friday February 09 2018, @11:36AM

          by GreatAuntAnesthesia (3275) on Friday February 09 2018, @11:36AM (#635467) Journal

          Yeah that's my own bias showing through. I read TFS and immediately my mind went to structural engineering - buildings and bridges and such. Vehicular was an afterthought. TFS and TFA show no such prejudice.

      • (Score: 2, Interesting) by anubi on Friday February 09 2018, @10:19AM (1 child)

        by anubi (2828) on Friday February 09 2018, @10:19AM (#635463) Journal

        I was just thinking of the problems I am seeing at a 100 year old church. It was completely re-done. There was extensive wood damage to beams that were inaccessible for maintenance and treatment. My neighbor's house also had a bit of termite damage in the walls.

        Maybe we do have treatments that actually work. It seems that by the time its "approved", it was done so through sufficient bribery to pass something proven completely safe, to termite and human alike, and the "good" stuff is kept under wraps. Like those diet pills advertised on TV that are patented and approved by the FDA. What they did not say is that grass clippings would qualify for those certifications. The FDA never claimed they work... rather they claim they won't hurt you. And anything can be patented. Patent number whatever: Means and method for selling grass clippings for high profit margin.

        The stuff looks good, but so did that "sunwood" "treated" 4X6 Home Depot sold me about 20 years ago. Its rotten, the fence is falling down. I am going to have to replace it. Not so bad for an outdoor fence, but had that been main support members for a WalMart, I am sure someone would be royally pissed. The local grocery store has some decorative wood trim outside that is already falling apart. Don't even talk to me about a wooden patio cover I am going to have to replace.

        Now, my pipe rack, made with "untreated" lumber is just fine... I did a homebrew on that one and painted it with used motor oil. The termites haven't touched it.

        I hear "wood", I can't help but remember all the disappointments I have had.

        A concrete and steel structure seems to go on indefinitely until torn down, but a wooden barn will fall down all by itself if ignored.

        --
        "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
        • (Score: 5, Interesting) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Friday February 09 2018, @10:46AM

          by GreatAuntAnesthesia (3275) on Friday February 09 2018, @10:46AM (#635465) Journal

          Well, your hundred year old church wouldn't have been built with modern, treated woods. And the wood you use for your fence is not the same stuff that goes into holding up a building. What's more, your fence has to deal with a lot more weather than something that is buried deep in the structure of a building.

          My house is well over a hundred years old, for example, and all the joists and beams are in fine condition now despite the awful British weather and generations of internal changes to the building. In fact I'd say the wood is lasting better than the bricks, but again, the bricks are the ones taking the brunt of the weather.

          Modern steel and concrete structures typically have a lifetime measured in decades, maybe a century. Admittedly that tends to be a deliberate cost trade off at the design stage, rather than anything inherent to the materials themselves. Plenty of the stuff that went up in the fifties and sixties is rusting and crumbling now. Meanwhile there are countless buildings still standing on centuries-old timbers. Hell, you can't spit in this country without hitting some five-hundred year old pub or clergyman's cottage with the original timbers still holding it up.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @12:22PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @12:22PM (#635479)

        Borax in propylene glycol soaked into the wood to kill termites

      • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday February 09 2018, @01:43PM

        by JoeMerchant (3937) on Friday February 09 2018, @01:43PM (#635494)

        It might even be that the very strength of the wood would be sufficient to turn away a termite's jaws, but IANAEntymologist so who knows.

        Some termites need wet wood to feed on and only thrive is specific circumstances. Formosan termites will chew through solid concrete to get to wood for feeding.

        --
        🌻🌻 [google.com]
      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @03:44PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @03:44PM (#635527)
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 10 2018, @07:03AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 10 2018, @07:03AM (#635912)

          Note to webmasters worldwide: this is a great way to title your anchors.

      • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Friday February 09 2018, @06:45PM

        by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 09 2018, @06:45PM (#635642) Journal

        Umnhhh.... I don't know about rot, though dry rot can silently destroy a structural member, but termites can be a real danger even in a three story building. Anything taller, and if the lower level gets eaten away you're likely to have a sudden major collapse without warning.

        The thing about anti-termite treatments is that they commonly depend on infusing something into the structure of the wood. That's going to interfere with the regularity of the grain. OTOH, if it's dry enough on the inside (maybe) then you should be able to sheathe it in, oh, Varathane(R), to keep them out. This isn't a standard treatment, but it ought to work, but you'd need to be sure that only the surface layer was affected. (That shouldn't be a problem, but I don't know the grain structure of this thing.)

        So it should be possible to with the problems, but not in the usual ways. IF they can keep the rot spores out before they seal the surface.

        --
        Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Friday February 09 2018, @11:56AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 09 2018, @11:56AM (#635472) Journal

      Is this still sensitive to water, termites, and rot?

      Grey ironbak [ironwood.com.au] - does not float (specific weight 1120kg/m3) and is not attacked by termites or lyctid borers - too much lignin, not enough cellulose.

      I've seen peer posts 100+ years old made of this wood - can't call them "as new" but certainly having some other tens of years ahead.

      ---

      The tree is not poisonous, but it will kill if it hits you when falling.
      I heard from park rangers that many young age (and still underweight) drop bears make their drop together with an ironbark log as a helper.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 5, Informative) by VLM on Friday February 09 2018, @01:46PM (2 children)

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 09 2018, @01:46PM (#635496)

    Some more context:

    Things vary a lot with grain direction in wood and specific species and metal alloy and heat treatments so even one sig fig is stretching it even for generic handwavy estimates.

    Anyways if wood tensile strength is X, steel and most aluminums and most alloys in general are about 5X and titanium is about 10x, metals in general are like 3x to 15x roughly. A single strand of carbon fiber might be 100x but assembled product in bulk epoxy you have to be careful to get 20x. The weirdest thing about carbon fiber is you take a bunch of hydrocarbons from wood and completely rearrange the atoms into CF then its twenty times stronger; well of course it takes a chemical plant to externally create CF whereas wood manufactures itself internally using solar power (although very slowly...) A standard SN automobile analogy is car oil is available thats slightly filtered rotted dinosaur, and fully synthetic, but this product is the equivalent of blend oil thats 50:50, kinda sorta. So its not as good as CF, but its better than plain old wood. Note that the main competitor to wood and CF is plywood and the various engineered chip and dust based composites. If you imagine an almost molecular fine grained MDF, thats kinda what this paper proposes, near as I can tell.

    So if your treehouse is suspended by a 2x4 (aka 1.5x3.5) thats about 5 sq inches so a steel of similar strength would have an area of 1/2 inch which is a diameter of 3/4 or so? Now 3/4 wire rope is weaker than a rod of steel but would be handwavy appropriate for a 5 ton crane (I'd look that up and think about factor of safety and maintenance levels and human safety factors before actually trying it...) so you can see treehouses are overbuilt because of material inconsistency and fast decay and difficulty of attachment, assuming your treehouse isn't the size of a garage. McMansion Treehouse LOL. This also explains how trees can sometimes survive 80 MPH winds without tearing to shreds, sure a wind like that is zillions of tons of force but unless the branch is dead and rotted its mostly no big deal.

    So yeah if X could be increased by ten, the author's handwavy is in fact about correct-ish.

    Titanium is really cool not because its strong by volume, which it isn't particularly as per above, but because its strong by mass, which makes it awesome for submarines and bicycles and stuff. Also Ti is biocompatible, which is kinda cool although not really relevant except for bone replacement implants.

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @07:23PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @07:23PM (#635661)

      Bone replacement implants was first thing which came to my mind after reading this news. Biological material, strong and tough, comparable or even superior to titanium, and probably cheaper to make...

      • (Score: 2) by VLM on Saturday February 10 2018, @04:17PM

        by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Saturday February 10 2018, @04:17PM (#636031)

        I searched for wood biocompatibility for fun and shockingly some Germans had great success in the 70s implanting common woods in rabbits. I figured there would be an immune response much like cross species organ sharing is non-trivial, but apparently wood is weird enough not to need the craziest level of immunosuppressive drugs. Cool.

        I suspect for a long time regardless of the recent influence of robots and AI that labor costs will always wildly exceed material costs for bone replacements. Still, it is cool.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @02:27PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @02:27PM (#635507)

    Just curious.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @02:50PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @02:50PM (#635514)

      probably not.
      but you can probably make frames for flying cars/drones.
      also, curious how good would it contain (low pressure) hydrogen gas (in a tank/pipe form),
      considering that "the hydrogens inside the compressed wood are closer together" already?

      another question would be if it's possible to build the machinery to make this compresswood out of ... compresswood?

      • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Friday February 09 2018, @06:52PM

        by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 09 2018, @06:52PM (#635648) Journal

        I'm rather certain that it wouldn't contain hydrogen gas. The hydrogen ions that are bound to the molecules are really a rather different thing. That said, it might be worth trying. If it worked well it could have lots of applications. But I'd be more interested in how heavy a tank to hold LNG would be...which *is* pressurized, though not extensively.

        --
        Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
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