Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: 1) Four conference presentations have been made on research results. 2) A case study protocol was developed and approved through the OSU Institutional Review Board. Potential respondents across the US were identified with eighteen interviews having been conducted with top marketing/sales executives and CEOs from private, multi-site softwood and hardwood. Multiple lists and expert opinions were consulted to identify interview participants. The interviews were transcribed into word documents and analyzed identifying key information addressing study objectives. Oral presentations were given at two meetings. 3) A dryer, burner, and control system were constructed and instrumented. Results have been published in an MS thesis. A publication in Drying Technology will be written based on the thesis and results will be presented to industry at a future West Coast Dry Kiln Association meeting. Bed model might be made available as a download on web. 4) The graduate student working on this project completed his coursework and the literature review and research methods sections of his thesis. The methods section included identification of candidate firms for interviews and developing and pilot-testing interview questions. However, the student left the university for an industry job. As of June 2012 no follow-up work had been conducted. There was a poster presentation in June 2011 at the Forest Products Society International Convention. 5) Results have been disseminated by interactions with other groups working in science of cutting (G. Williams, Imperial College, London and T. Atkins, University of Reading, England) and by a presentation at a scientific meeting on fracture--6th European Structural Integrity Society TC4 Conference in Switzerland. This work has now been thoroughly documented in a student's MS thesis. This thesis will be followed by two journal publications. 6) A review of the international literature to identify what tagging and tracking technologies are currently available, and their advantages and disadvantages was completed in 2011. The review also identified near-future technologies that may be of interest to PNW companies. A survey form was designed and pretested to determine what the current log tagging and tracking systems are used by Oregon companies. The results of the survey and meetings were summarized and included in a paper published in 2012. 7) An international literature search of log truck scheduling methods and off-the-shelf GIS truck scheduling software was completed. Interviews with truck contractors, land owning companies, and software developers were undertaken to understand their fleet management problems and identify opportunities for improvement. Alternative business models were documented. Log truck optimization software was developed to examine alternative scenarios for scheduling improvement. 8) An initial analysis investigated the accuracy of data recorded through Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to track and monitor chip trucks that were used exclusively for transporting chipped biomass from forest operations sites. Approximately 186,000 GPS measurements were recorded for the entire study. PARTICIPANTS: Subproject 1. John Simonsen, John Nairn and Lech Muszynski, Professors, Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State Univ.; Reza Shabazian, Professor, Michigan Tech Univ. Jeremiah Kelley, Melissa Taylor, Han Chan, Pratish Rao, and Anahita Pakazad, graduate students, Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State Univ. Michelle Romero, Mike Adamic, Jeremiah Kelley and Han Chan, undergraduates, Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State Univ. Subproject 2. Eric Hansen, Professor and Xiaoou (Jane) Han, PhD student, Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State Univ. Subproject 3. Michael R. Milota, Professor and Hai Yang, graduate student, Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State Univ. Subproject 4. Scott Leavengood, Associate Professor, Eric Hansen, Professor and R.D. Mosier, M. Burnard and N. Mosier, graduate students, Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State Univ. Forest Business Solutions Center, Oregon State Univ. Subproject 5. John Nairn, Professor and Kalin Semrick, graduate student, Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State Univ. J. Gordon Williams, contact, Imperial College, London, England; Tony Atkins, contact, University of Reading, England; Chungping Dai and Edward Le, contacts, FP Innovations, Vancouver, B.C., Canada; and Tim Shallach, contact, Columbia Forest Products, WA. Subproject 6. Glen Murphy, Professor, FERM, Oregon State Univ. Forest owners in Oregon and Washington, a log scaling company and researchers in Europe. Subproject 7. John Sessions, Professor, Kevin Boston, Associate Professor and Kyler Kokenge, graduate student, FERM, Oregon State Univ. Collaborators included Brooks McKee and Matt Linderman, Trimible Automation. Subproject 8. John Sessions, Professor, Michael Wing, Assistant Professor and Matamyo Simwanda, graduate student, FERM, Oregon State Univ. Collaborating companies included Roseburg Forest Products and Reed Fuel and Trucking, Springfield, OR. TARGET AUDIENCES: Subproject 1. Scientific researchers, industrial technologists and researchers. Subproject 2. Primary--forest industry executives; secondary--forest products academics. Subproject 3. Designers of drying equipment. Subproject 4. The primary target audience for this research are managers in wood products manufacturing firms. These managers will be able to use the results of this project to adapt their practices related to customer relationship management. Subproject 5. The target audiences are researchers in the mechanics of cuttings, wood products companies involved in cutting of wood or wood-based products, companies involved in log peeling, and companies involved in manufacturing of any equipment that is used for cutting of wood. Subproject 6. Woodlot and forest owners, forest industry personnel and students, harvesting operators, and the international forest operations research community. Subproject 7. The target audiences are forest operations managers and logging truck contractors. These audiences will be reached through a combination of a manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal, presentation to a transportation workshop, and presentation to forest operations personnel at Council of Forest Engineering meetings. Subproject 8. Target audiences are transportation planners and operations managers. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Subproject 4. The PIs have opted to complete the project by using remaining funds to pay another graduate student to conduct the interviews and analyze the results after this student completes her degree in mid-June 2012. Subproject 7. To avoid the telecommunication hardware and software development costs of implementing a truck dispatch system, a case study with Trimble Automation was initiated to test their recently developed BLUE OX log truck scheduling system. For many of the reasons documented during this study, repeated project delays by Trimble did not permit software testing of the system with Trimble to be completed within the scheduled time.
Impacts
1) New theory led to discovery of ionic cross-linked CNC composites, which hold potential to understand and control moisture susceptibility in cellulose-based composites. Produced first lift out sample of a CNC aerogel, a critical step in preparing CNC aerogels for 3D imaging, and potentially vastly improving knowledge of distribution of CNCs in polymer matrix. 2) Evolution of marketing sophistication means firms have better understanding of customers/market environment and can better respond to demands from customers/stakeholders, enhancing firm competitiveness within forest sector. 3) Pressure drop through biomass dryer bed found to be minimal. Electrical power requirements depend more on design of piping and method of gas distribution than bed depth. Knowing particle terminal velocity will help designers in sizing air handling equipment. Knowing the thickness of the drying zone will allow the bed depth designers to achieve desired moisture content distribution in particles. Drying time and thermal efficiency generally increase with bed depth, which should be increased until energy gains are offset by cost of greater bed pressure drop or problems occur in flow uniformity through bed. 4) Results support improved customer relationship best practices and approaches for gaining and communicating information about existing/potential/new customers. Practices that differentiated innovation management practices among firms surveyed included focus on value over yield, employee involvement/empowerment, benchmarking, and a broad view of innovation. 5) Recent advances in cutting science that incorporate fracture mechanics principles provide new understanding of best material cutting practices through improved understanding of material properties, tool sharpness, rake angle, tool friction, etc. Numerical simulations help to understand/optimize cutting procedures for wood products, including log peeling for fabrication of wood veneer. 6) Optimally matching wood quality to markets should lead to improved product uniformity, productivity, profitability, sector competitiveness, and contribute to reduced waste, energy consumption, and environmental impacts along the supply chain. Results improve knowledge of current log tagging and tracking practices; their implementation will help ensure that the right fiber gets to right process. 7) Study identified lack of coordination between logging and trucking contractors; suggests planning improvements may provide cost savings. 8) Initial analysis indicates consumer-grade GPS receivers have potential to assist forest operation managers in measuring/optimizing biomass transportation efforts. Methodology provided to produce horizontal road alignment directly from GPS data. A travel time model for chip vans will contribute to improved cost feasibility analyses for biomass removals/fleet management.
Publications
- Craig, J., C. Dibrell and E. Hansen. 2011. Natural Environment, Market Orientation, and Firm Innovativeness: An Organizational Life Cycle Perspective. Journal of Small Business Management 49(3):467-489.
- Dibrell, C., J. Craig and E. Hansen. 2011. The Effect of Managerial Attitudes Toward the Natural Environment on Market Orientation and Innovation Relationships. Journal of Business Research 64(4):401-407.
- Ding, J. 2011. A Methodology for Evaluating Multiple Mechanical Properties of Prototype Microfibrillated Cellulose/Poly(lactic acid) Film Composites. M.S. Thesis. Oregon State Univ., Corvallis. 129 pp.
- Hansen, E., E. Nybakk, L. Bull, P. Crespell, A. Jelvez and C. Knowles. 2011. A Multinational Investigation of Softwood Sawmilling Innovativeness. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 26(3):278-287.
- Kelley, J., J. Simonsen and J. Ding. 2012. Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexfluoropropylene) (PVDFHFP) Nanocomposites Incorporating Cellulose Nanocrystals with Potential Applications in Lithium Ion Batteries. J. Appl. Poly. Sci. DOI:10.1002/app.37790.
- Leavengood, S., T. Anderson and T. Daim. 2012. Exploring Linkage of Quality Management to Innovation. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence. (Accepted for publication.).
- Murphy, G.E., J. Clark and S. Pilkerton. 2012. Tracking logs from forest to mill in the Pacific Northwest: Opportunities and challenges. Western Journal of Applied Forestry 27(2):84-91.
- Pakzad, A., J. Simonsen, P. Heiden and R. Shahbazian-Yassar. 2012. Observation of Size-Scale Effects on the Nanomechanical Properties of Cellulose I Nanocrystals. Journal of Materials Research 27(3):528-536.
- Pakzad, A., J. Simonsen and R.S. Yassar. 2012. Gradient of nanomechanical properties in the interphase of cellulose nanocrystal composites. Composites Science and Technology 72(2):314-319.
- Semrick, K. 2012. Determining Fracture Toughness by Orthogonal Cutting of Polyethylene and Wood-Polyethylene Composites. M.S. Thesis. Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State Univ., Corvallis. 111 pp.
- Simwanda, M. 2010. Modeling biomass transport on single lane forest roads to improve forest biomass transportation and monitoring GPS accuracy for vehicle tracking under different forest canopy conditions. M.S. Thesis. College of Forestry, Oregon State Univ., Corvallis. 102 pp. plus software listing.
- Simwanda, M., M.G. Wing and J. Sessions. 2011. Evaluating global positioning system accuracy for forest biomass transportation tracking within varying forest canopy. Western Journal of Applied Forestry 26(4):165-173.
- Yang, H. 2012. Modeling the fixed bed drying characteristics of biomass particles. Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State Univ., Corvallis. 124 pp.
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Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: 1) A new theory has been developed to predict the mechanical properties of nanocomposites. Five presentations have been made on research results; 2) A protocol has been approved by the Institutional Review Board; survey participants have been identified and interviews are underway; 3) A bed dryer has been constructed and tested; experiments have been conducted and the results are now being modeled; 4) project is temporarily stalled by loss of student; survey plan is in place and approved; 5) an existing numerical package based on the material point method (MPM) was enhanced to allow numerical simulations of orthogonal cutting. This entire code package is available as freeware; further experiments are underway; 6) Interviews with participants have been completed and alternative business models documented; one MS thesis is near completion; the next phase has been slowed by the poor economy but will begin fall 2011; 7) About 186,000 GPS measurements have been completed. Three analyses and modeling of travel time have been completed. One manuscript has been accepted into a peer-reviewed journal, one is ready for review and one is in preparation; 8) Two analyses were completed and will be submitted for publication: one analysis investigated the accuracy of data recorded through GPS technology to track and monitor chip trucks moving chipped biomass from forest operation sites, the second considered development of a travel time prediction model for loaded and empty chip vans on steep forest roads. PARTICIPANTS: Mike Adamic, Undergraduate, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Adin Berberovic, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Kevin Boston, Associate Professor, Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management, Oregon State University; Han Chan, Undergraduate, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Jie Ding, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Rebecca Hammer, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Xiaoou Han, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Eric Hansen, Professor, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Jeremiah Kelley, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Kyler Kokenge, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Scott Leavengood, Associate Professor, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Thomas Maness, Professor and Department Head, Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management, Oregon State University; Thomas McLain, Professor and Department Head, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; John Miles, Undergraduate, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Michael Milota, Professor, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; R.D. Mosier, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Glen Murphy, Professor, Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management, Oregon State University; Lech Muszynski, Associate Professor, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; John Nairn, Professor, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Steve Pilkerton, Faculty Research Assistant, Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management, Oregon State University; Kalin Semrick, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Wood Scienc and Engineering, Oregon State University; John Sessions, Professor, Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management, Oregon State University; John Simonson, Professor, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; Steven Tesch, Professor, Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management, Oregon State University; Michael Wing, Associate Professor, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University; and Hai Yang, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University. TARGET AUDIENCES: Composite product manufacturers, wood scientists, business executives, equipment manufacturers, researchers, forest operations planners, forest land managers, forest engineers. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: In subproject 7); to reduce costs and speed up work a case study with an industrial partner will be completed instead of purchasing a dispatch model.
Impacts
1) Experiments showed that difficulty to achieve an increased aspect ratio in CNC's can be compensated for by higher volume fractions of CNC's in polymer composites; 2) None at present; 3) Drying kinetics for Douglas-fir furnish were found to not differ from those of hemlock furnish; bed depth is not critical to operation above a certain level; this suggests changes in bed design for commercial use; 4) none at present; 5) Some sample simulations have been posted to http://www.cof.orst.edu/cof/ wse/faculty/Nairn/MPMSamples/index.html; the experiments quantified unexpected complexity in analyzing tool cutting of WPC's, requiring a new approach to modeling than previously thought; 6) None at present; 7) lack of coordination between logging and trucking contractors is the major inhibitor to adopting a log scheduling system; landowner collaboration is emerging as an important factor; 8) Forest operations that require greater positional accuracy than that resulting from the GPS receivers we examined may want to consider other receivers or alternate approaches to vehicle movement measurements. Given the relatively low cost of the GPS receivers used in our study, consumer-grade GPS receivers have significant potential to assist forest operation managers in measuring and optimizing biomass transportation efforts. The results of the second analysis provide a methodology to produce horizontal alignment in terms of tangents and curves directly from GPS data and a travel time model for empty and load chip vans that closely approximate observed travel times. The study identified the importance of transition speeds from road section to road section on overall travel time. When compared to the travel time prediction from the widely used USDA Forest Service Log Truck Transportation model, the chip van transportation model developed in this study much more closely predicted travel time.
Publications
- Eichorn, S.J., A. Dufresne, M. Aranguren, N.E. Marcovich, J.R. Capadona, S.J. Rowan, C. Weder, W. Thielemans, M. Roman, S. Renneckar, W. Gindl, S. Veigel, H. Yano, K. Abe, M. Nogi, A.N. Nakagaito, A. Mangalam, J. Simonsen, A.S. Benight, A. Bismarck, L.A. Berglund and T. Peijs. 2010. Review: Current International Research into Cellulose Nanofibers and Nanocomposites. Journal of Materials Science 45(1):1.
- Hansen, E. 2010. the Role of Innovation in the Forest Products Industry. Journal of Forestry 108(7):348-353.
- Hansen, E., S. Leavengood and R. Mosier. 2011. Customer Relationship Management, A Construct to Promote Innovation in the Forest Products Industry: Insights from Pacific Northwest Companies. Forest Products Society International Convention, June 21, Oregon State Univ., Corvallis. (Poster).
- Kokenge, K. 2011. Opportunities and challenges for decision support systems in timber transportation. M.S. Thesis. College of Forestry, Oregon State Univ. 135 pp.
- Mood, R., R.A. Martini, J. Nairn, J. Simonsen and J. Youngblood. 2011. Cellulose nanomaterials review: Structure, properties and nanocomposites. Chemical Society Reviews 40:391-3994.
- Simwanda, M., M.G. Wing and J. Sessions. 2011. Monitoring GPS accuracy for vehicle tracking under different canopy conditions. Western Journal of Applied Forestry. (Accepted for pub.).
- Tze, W.T.Y., J. Yao, M. Taylor and J. Simonsen. 2010. Raman spectroscopic studies of load transfer in nano-cellulose-filled poly(lactic acid) composites. 18th Annual International Conference on Composites/Nano Engineering, July 4-10, Anchorage, AK.
- Tze, W.T.Y., J. Yao, M. Taylor and J. Simonsen. 2011. Raman spectroscopic studies of load transfer in nano-cellulose-filled poly(lactic acid) composites. World Journal of Engineering. (Accepted for pub.).
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