Abstract
Replacing greenhouse gas-intensive building materials with wood products from sustainable forestry contributes to the implementation of current climate conventions such as the Paris Agreement. Hardwood products, such as laminated veneer lumber made of beech (e.g., BauBuche), are an alternative to conventional building materials. For the application of wood products in the construction sector, a precise knowledge of the mechanical and physical properties is essential. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the sorption behavior and associated dimensional changes of the product BauBuche. This was done by applying a manual testing procedure (climatic chamber, balance and caliper) as well as a dynamic vapor sorption analyzer equipped with a camera. During initial moistening after production, due to the irreversible spring back (approximately 2 mm at 50 mm; i.e., 4%), Baubuche shows an extremely strong swelling in the radial direction. Once the maximum spring back is reached, Baubuche shows sorption behavior in the radial and tangential direction, which is comparable to that of solid beech wood in the radial direction. Consequently, the dimensional changes caused by moisture changes must be taken into account in the dimensioning of Baubuche components in order to avoid damage to building structures.
Highlights
The ratification of the Paris Agreement [1] entails an obligation for industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
According to the set rules (IQR method), extreme outliers in moisture content and dimensional change were found for the data of the manual test method: eight for test specimens of cubic dimensions within the Adsorption Sequence, one for test specimens of flat dimensions within the adsorption sequence
Only the flat test specimens are considered in the following, since a more reliable conditioning can be assumed due to the smaller dimensions, and shorter distances for moisture to enter the test specimen. This assumption is supported by the fact that the initial moisture content in the Desorption Sequence of the cubic test specimens (9.7%) is lower than that of the flat test specimens (10.7%)
Summary
The ratification of the Paris Agreement [1] entails an obligation for industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One contribution to meeting this requirement could be the utilization of wood instead of greenhouse gas-intensive building materials. This would result in an increase in demand for wooden construction materials. In Germany, the availability of spruce structural timber from own domestic forests is expected to decline in the long term due to current forest policy. In order to balance various forest interests, the Forest Strategy 2020 [2] proposes, among other things, the establishment of near-natural mixed forests from native tree species appropriate to the location. It can be assumed that the timber industry and the construction industry will adapt to hardwood-based materials
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