Wood and wood-jute laminates manufactured by vacuum infusion

Abstract

Unidirectional (called laminated veneer lumber - LVL), which could be applied for structural purposes depending on the adhesive properties. However, these laminates have numerous limitations due to both physical, mechanical and interfacial properties. Thus, this study addresses the vacuum infusion processing of wood and wood-jute laminates and their characterization. Balsa wood veneers, jute fabrics, and a polyester resin were employed in the bicomponent and hybrid laminates with up to nine layers. The analyses were density, water absorption, and tensile, compressive, flexural and short beam testing. The bicomponent (wood/polyester) laminates presented poor mechanical performance due to the insufficient resin impregnation as noticed from the morphology analysis. However, the insertion of intermediate jute fabrics increased density (70–75%), short beam strength (62–67%), flexural modulus (51–116%) and strength (49–82%), tensile modulus (67–78%) and strength (19–47%), which were ascribed to the higher amount of impregnated resin among the jute layers. Also, the higher the number of layers, the poorer the interlaminar properties, especially for the bicomponent wooden laminates.