Truncating the distribution of modulus properties in natural populations of wood
AssigneeInventWood Inc.
InventorsAllan Bradshaw, Jack G. Winterowd
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Abstract
This disclosure is directed to methods of separating wood veneer material by property measurements, and thereafter improving the properties of veneer material with property values lower than a target threshold value, until those materials meet or exceed that threshold values. In some aspects of the disclosure, veneer materials are prepared, non-destructively measured, and separated into passing and failing material collections. The failing material collection may then be treated to improve the density and flexural modulus of the material therein. Also disclosed herein are products and materials incorporating the treated veneer materials according to the disclosed methods.
Claims28
A method comprising:
- (a) subjecting veneer sections to non-destructive parallel-to-grain direction bending modulus measurements;
- (b) sorting the veneer sections into a first group comprising veneer sections having a first group modulus value above a predetermined threshold value and a second group comprising veneer sections having a second group modulus value below the predetermined threshold value;
- (c) subjecting the second group of veneer sections to a process that increases the second group modulus value for parallel-to-grain direction bending above the predetermined threshold value;
- and
- (d) after (c), fabricating a structural wood composite from at least one of the veneer sections of the first group and at least one of the veneer sections of the second group,
- wherein each veneer section in the structural wood composite has a modulus value above the predetermined threshold value.
A method comprising:
- providing a plurality of first veneer sections and a plurality of second veneer sections, each first veneer section having a bending modulus greater than a predetermined threshold value, each second veneer section having a bending modulus less than a predetermined threshold value;
- densifying the plurality of second veneers sections to form a plurality of upgraded veneer sections, each upgraded veneer section having an improved bending modulus greater than the predetermined threshold value;
- and
- assembling one or more of the upgraded veneer sections with one or more of the first veneer sections to form a structural wood composite.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.