Simultaneous shaping and fixation of veneer by specific material modification, Subsequent application: mechanisms of curing and forming process

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Alexander Pfriem
• Subject Area: Polymeric and Biogenic Materials and Derived Composites ; Biomaterials
• Term: from 2010 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 166393996

Wood veneer can be plasticized by furfuryl alcohol/maleic anhydride impregnation. A heat-induced acid-catalysed polymerisation after impregnation and moulding results in a polymer formed inside the cell wall and fixes the realized shape of the moulded veneer. The planned following-up project aims to generate further and deepened knowledge upon the moulding behaviour of chemically plasticized and modified wood veneer. Thereby, considerable attention is paid on analysing and transferring the mechanisms of the changed thermal, dynamic-mechanical, and moulding behaviour of impregnated veneer samples to laboratory scale. Already gained knowledge about plasticization, polymerisation, and the affecting parameter will be developed, extended, and completed. The main emphases of the continuing project can be divided in three separate fields: microscopic studies of the curing step, dynamic-mechanical thermo-analyses (DMTA) combined with thermo gravimetric studies to investigate viscoelastic properties, and analyses concerning the material behaviour of wood veneer when moulding is combined with curing. Results from those investigations will provide a better understanding of the changed material behaviour during plasticization, at elevated temperatures, and during the combined moulding and curing process. Especially, results from dynamic-mechanical studies will deliver important information since those studies will be performed using a single specimen to determine dynamic-mechanical properties prior to and after impregnation as well as during and after curing. This approach will reduce variances and inaccuracies, which have been observed using different wood samples for every process step. Identified interrelations between modified chemical structure, applied process technology, and the moulding and mechanical behaviour of the material will be analysed in respect of their general applicability and transferability to a technological process. According to the obtained results, the technologies regarding the moulding and form-fixation will be further developed and adapted. Specific material properties will be realized by adjusting the chemical composition, process procedure and process steps. Those material properties will be correlated to the results gained from anatomic, thermal, and dynamic-mechanical analyses and structure-property-relations will be defined.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants