Production and mechanical performance of scrimber composite manufactured from poplar wood for structural applications

摘要

The use of wood-based composite material for structural purposes is of increasing interest. A scrimber composite, which is manufactured from thermally modified fast-growing wood, is introduced in this paper. The production of such scrimber is able to reduce the inherent variability in mechanical properties of natural wood material, and also allows the effective utilization of fastgrowing wood, which is widely available with a low price in China. Experimental tests were conducted to determine the mechanical properties of the scrimber composite. A comparison of mechanical properties of the proposed scrimber composite with other timber/bamboo-based materials is then reported. It is shown that the scrimber composite has desirable mechanical performance as a construction material, which is comparable or superior to those of engineered timber/bamboo products. This study contributes to a potential utilization of fast-growing tree species, and the presented mechanical tests can serve as a fundamental basis for more applications of such composite material in practical engineering.