Use of Hevea brasiliensis Rubberwood for Glulam Beam Production

Luisa Julieth Parra-Serrano,Aline Maria Faria Cerchiari,Israel Luiz De Lima,José Nivaldo Garcia,Marcia Elizabeth Marchini Piva

doi:10.1590/2179-8087.038616

Luisa Julieth Parra-Serrano, Aline Maria Faria Cerchiari + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8087.038616

Copy DOI

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Brazil, Hevea brasiliensis plantations are principally destined for latex production. In the national literature however, there are few studies on the mechanical properties of rubberwood. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of rubberwood in the manufacture of glulam beams (VLC), through the use of pieces of sawn wood of H. brasiliensis clone RRIM 600 glued using mono-component polyurethane adhesive. The beams were subjected to destructive bending tests according to the procedures of standard NBR 7190/97. The results were correlated with the resistance to shearing in the solid wood and the glue line. The structural performance of VLCs manufactured from rubberwood was significant when the last layer was removed from the bending calculation. This layer presented problems in the finger joint. The bending strength of VLCs is highly dependent on the tensile strength of the finger joint, which proved to be the critical point in this study.

Highlights

H. brasiliensis wood was obtained from 21-year old trees of the clone RRIM 600, originating from an experimental field cultivated in the municipality of Mococa – SP at latitude S 21°28’, longitude E 47°01’, at an altitude of 665 m, with average annual temperature of 24.5° and average annual rainfall of 155 mm
The statistical analysis shows that there was no significant difference between the elasticity modulus in the bending (EM) of the VLCs and the solid wood
Based on the determination of the relative efficiency of the gluing (94.13%), which relates the results of resistance to shearing on the gluing plane of the VLCs, with the resistance to shearing of the solid wood, it can be inferred that the glue between the laminates of H. brasiliensis wood using the commercial single-component adhesive was satisfactory

Summary

Introduction

Native to the Amazon region, is the most important species amongst the latex producers (Fladung & Ewald, 2006). The greater part of global rubberwood production is concentrated in Southeast Asia, where 70% of the plantations are distributed throughout Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Rubberwood, which for a long time was used solely for latex extraction, has begun to be used to manufacture panels, furniture, frames, and decorative items, and is currently a significant culture of great economic importance to the region (Lim et al, 2003; ITTO, 2009). According to Killman & Hong (2000), wood from this species presents favorable physical, mechanical and machinability properties, with relatively low production costs. In Malaysia, 30% of exported wood products, and in Thailand 60%, are manufactured from rubberwood (Shigematsu et al, 2011)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion