Modeling of Falling Ball Impact Test Response on Solid, Veneer, and Traditional Engineered Wood Floorings of Several Hardwoods

Fernando Sepliarsky,Gabriel Keil,José-Antonio Balmori,Luis Acuña,Pablo Martín-Ramos,Eleana Spavento,Milagros Casado,Roberto D Martínez

doi:10.3390/f13020167

Fernando Sepliarsky, Gabriel Keil + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/f13020167

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Abstract

Hardness is a key mechanical property of flooring materials. In this study, the performance of veneer floorings (with a top layer thickness of 0.6 mm) was investigated by dynamic hardness tests, comparing it with those of traditional engineered wood floorings (with a top layer thickness of 3 mm) and solid wood floorings. Two hardwoods commonly used on wood flooring, viz. Quercus robur L. and Hymenaea courbaril L., and two fast-growing hardwoods, Eucalyptus globulus Labill. and Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden, were tested as top layers. To compare their usage properties, a dynamic impact hardness test involving steel balls with three diameters and five different drop heights was carried out, measuring the footprint diameter (FD) and the indentation depth (ID). The data from 4800 impacts, corresponding to 180 different individual groups (4 hardwood species × 3 ball diameters × 5 drop heights × 3 floor types) were analyzed. The results showed that the general response in terms of both FD and ID was better in the engineered wood floorings than in solid wood floorings, and that the veneer floorings (0.6 mm) showed better behavior than traditional engineered wood floorings (3.0 mm). Furthermore, for the veneer floorings, the two fast-growing hardwood species tested, which have significantly different densities, showed similar behavior to traditional hardwoods, suggesting that they would be suitable for valorization in the wood flooring industry.

Highlights

The use of wood floorings in building construction is widespread, to the extent that wood has become the most used floor material [1]
Box plots of the two variables under study, viz. average footprint diameter and indentation depth, as a function of the wood flooring type, hardwood species used in the top layer, steel ball diameter, and drop height are presented in Figures 3 and 4, respectively
The dynamic hardness test results demonstrated that veneer floorings

Summary

Introduction

The use of wood floorings in building construction is widespread, to the extent that wood has become the most used floor material [1]. The modernization of the industrial flooring sector and the development of new products have resulted both in quality improvement and cost reductions, making engineered wood floorings more competitive than solid ones [2,3,4]. The current trend in the industry is towards the development of new multilayer products with lower top layer thicknesses, supported by technology improvements and pushed by new consumer habits [5]. Conventional technical floors are being replaced by novel products with noble wood layers with thicknesses below 1 mm, which enable the production of a greater amount of floor volume with the same amount of noble wood [6]

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