IMPROVED MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF DEGRADED WOODEN BEAMS

The construction industry has long been recognized as one of the major contributors to environmental pollution. Due to the industrial processes employed for the obtainment of building materials (which oftentimes involve the burning of non-renewable fossil fuels), as well as due to the specific building activities, the construction sector accounts for a staggering 37% of global emissions. The need for eco-friendly, sustainable solutions to mitigate the environmental impact is clear. One possible solution is to make use of new, eco-friendly and (as much as possible) biodegradable materials in the construction industry. One such material is generically known as “liquid wood”. This is a (up to 100% biodegradable) biopolymeric composite material. It is also thermo-injectable (can be used in injection molding). The present paper analyzes the possible employment of one such recipe of “liquid wood” – known as Arboblend V2 Nature – in the context of its usage as a rehabilitation material for degraded timber beams. For the purpose of this study, a total of fifteen timber beams have been prepared. Out of them, twelve beams have been intentionally weakened and then rehabilitated by using Arboblend V2 Nature and three have been kept as reference samples. They have then been subjected to the three-point bending test, one of the most common types of loading scenarios commonly occurring on beams. The results were encouraging, in the sense that the material did not fail before the timber itself and it has proven that it can take over loads successfully. However, some issues were encountered with respect to the adhesion/interface between “liquid wood” and timber, which require further investigation.