Abstract
The strength of an adhesive joint plays a major role in the implementation of engineering wood products; therefore, joint performance receives intense scrutiny. This study investigated a wooden adhesive joint, made from densified wood, the performance of which was dramatically enhanced. The wood sample was developed by performing mechanical compression and polymer impregnation on rubberwood. This treated rubberwood was additionally prepared by simple surface sanding prior to jointing. The highest wettability was found on surfaces sanded with the largest grit sandpaper. Consequently, glueline thickness increased with progressively larger grit (smaller grit number) sandpaper. In addition, the maximum shear strength for the joint made from the densified rubberwood was greater than that of that made from the original one, by 40%. Surprisingly, with the optimal sanding treatment, the shear strength of the wooden joint gradually increased with an increase in the density of the densified rubberwood from 1.05 to 1.30 g/cm3. Moreover, the rate of wood failure also increased throughout the stated density range.
Highlights
Wood is one of the most important sources of natural polymer used globally
In order to prepare the densified rubberwood sample, sawn dried lumber was treated according to three-stage procedures—namely, the pre-compression of the rubberwood, impregnation of methyl methacrylate (MMA), and mechanical compression of the MMAimpregnated rubberwood
The experiments reported in this paper revealed the effects of compression ratios and surface sanding on the performance of the joint made from densified rubberwood prepared by the method of mechanical compression and polymer impregnation
Summary
Wood is one of the most important sources of natural polymer used globally. The rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) has become economically significant in farm forestry for natural rubber; more than 80% of wooden furniture products are comprehensively manufactured from rubber trees when they are aged and become low in latex yield [1]. The impregnation of rubberwood using methyl methacrylate and mixtures of glycidyl methacrylate and styrene, followed by their polymerization, improves the water absorption, dimensional stability, degradability, tensile strength, flexural strength, and hardness of the modified samples [3,4,5]. This makes rubberwood more resistant to natural degradation. It was reported that this densified wood bore the potential for structural application. The adhesive jointing of this wood should be explored in order to provide an opportunity to use densified rubberwood for wider engineering applications
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