Recipient Organization
MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV
(N/A)
MISSISSIPPI STATE,MS 39762
Performing Department
Forest Products
Non Technical Summary
Industrial wood matting, also known as cribbing, serve primarily as temporary access materials for the construction and maintenance of electrical transmission infrastructure. This product is widely used in the pipeline, energy exploration, utility and other heavy construction industries, primarily as a means of supporting heavy equipment on unstable ground, and can also be used to expand narrow waterways, ditches, gullies, or similar terrain (Barczak and Gearhart, 1994). The use of mats provides a load distribution mechanism that effectively reduces the formation of ruts, minimizing the associated negative impacts on the local environment. In many cases, the industrial mats used on pipeline, in energy exploration, and in the utility and construction industries are made of solid-sawn wood and more recently engineered wood panels such as cross-laminated timber (CLT). Worldwide expansion of economies and populations has increased the demand for access to forests. Removing wood products from the forest requires specific access systems, such as truck roads and skid trails. Bridge mats, crane mats and logging mats can all serve useful roles in road construction, road maintenance, prevention of rutting, and stable stream crossings, and they can be re-used. Matting systems can be designed to carry a variety of loads (point, line, distributed, uniform) over a variety of ground conditions, including soft or marshy soils (Blinn et al., 1998). Mats can be applied quickly, and upon completion of a job, can be removed so that the site can return to its pre-construction, minimally disturbed condition. Hardwood lumber is used in a wide variety of products, and the end use can be classified into two categories, grade lumber and industrial lumber. Industrial lumber applications of hardwood include pallets, cross ties or sleepers, scaffolding, timber mats and dunnage(Bumgardner et al., 2014). Most sawmills aim to produce as much grade lumber as possible. Grade lumber is characterized as lumber that comes from the most valuable parts of the hardwood log. The quality of this lumber is measured by the amount and size of clear cuttings achievable from the individual board. It is from grade lumber that sawmills get the best wood to produce appearance products and is where manufactures get the highest return on investment for a mill (Cassens, 2011). Industrial hardwood lumber comes from the remaining part of the log that cannot be sawn into usable grade lumber. It is commonly used to create products such as hardwood pallets. In general, these types of hardwood products are lower in value per board foot than grade lumber but are still extremely important materials for a sawmill to marked to customers, as it maximizes the value of each log (Luppold and Bumgardner, 2003). There is a growing trend for consumption of industrial hardwood lumber. In 2013, grade lumber represented 40% of hardwood consumption, and industrial lumber represented 60%. In 1999, these number were 59.6% and 40.5%, respectively. In 2018, the demand for hardwood grade lumber in North America suffered a decline in export volume and prices. Meanwhile, domestic industrial lumber market gained momentum. Cross ties, switch ties, pallets cants, board roads, timber mats, and frame stock are moving better than grade lumber timber (Hardwood Market Report, 2018). Few studies have been conducted on industrial mats, outside of those related to the examination of mechanical properties. To date, there are no published studies that evaluate the resistance of the material to decay fungi and termite attack. Due to the importance of wood industrial mats for construction and the lack of information on how wood industrial mats perform under decay and termite exposure, it is important to understand the resistance of the product to biodegradation and termite attack. The goal of this research is to provide information for wood industrial mats manufactures, so they can better predict the life span of the product and use the raw material in a more efficient way.
Animal Health Component
80%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
80%
Developmental
10%
Goals / Objectives
This project seeks to add information on the biological degradation properties of wood industrial mats. The main objectives of this study are:to determine the resistance of wood industrial mats to decay by basidiomycete wood-rot fungi and feeding by subterranean termitesto compare decay and termite resistance of different wood species commonly used to manufacture wood industrial matsto examine how biodegradation by fungi and termites relates to the longevity of the timber mats.
Project Methods
Test samples will be obtained from commercially available industrial mats. Wood species selected for use in this study will be those most commonly used to produce timber mats, namely oak, mixed hardwoods and pine. An industrial mat manufactured with cross laminated timber (CLT) will also be evaluated, since it is a new product on the wood market, and it has receiving attention in the North American wood industry. A total of 40 samples will be used (ten replicates per species). As the dimensions of industrial mats vary according to the manufacture, specimens for this study will be cut into 6" x 6' x 10' samples. These dimensions are smaller than those of commercially available industrial mats but better facilitate visual inspection of specimens. By cutting the ends of specimens, the rate of water absorption will be increased, which will accelerate biodegradation and termite attack. A seal will be applied to the ends of the samples to provide a better simulation of the longer mats. Samples will be placed in contact with soil and moisture content readings will be collected during test. The procedure in AWPA E8-15 "Standard field test for evaluation of wood preservatives to be used in ground contact (UC4A, UC4B, UC4C); post test" will be used to evaluate the decay and termite infestation of wood industrial mats. The goal of this test will be to evaluate the performance of the product under specific deterioration conditions. This procedure will provide the necessary conditions to determine the durability of wood products in direct soil contact. Periodic inspections will be conducted, and data collected will allow a measure of damage caused by decay and termites under optimum conditions. Samples will be placed in three different locations: Sam D. Hamilton National Wildlife Refuge (Brooksville, MS), Formosan Termite Research Facility (McNeill, MS), and at the USDA FS Harrison Experimental Forest (Saucier, MS). These locations are known to have decay and active colonies of two commonly occurring subterranean termite species (Reticulitermes spp. or Coptotermes formosanus). Inspections will be conducted every six months. Specimens will be visually evaluated following the decay rating system and the termite rating scheme proposed by AWPA E8-15 (AWPA 2019), are shown in tables 1 and 2, respectively.