New age of discovery in wood science
Received 20 June 2019 Accepted 5 July 2019 Published 15 July 2019
Development of aircrafts, driven by the wars and internationalization of trade and travelling, dramatically boosted
New age of discovery in wood science
Received 20 June 2019 Accepted 5 July 2019 Published 15 July 2019
Development of aircrafts, driven by the wars and internationalization of trade and travelling, dramatically boosted scientific research of wood a century ago. Proper metals being still under development, airplane fuselage and wing structures were predominantly made of wood – a widely available material with reasonable strength-weight ratio. Unlike the competitor materials of those times, the stiffness of wood was only little influenced by rapid temperature fluctuations of even 80 degrees Celsius. Moreover, the ability of wood to absorb and withstand vibrations, g forces, and other mechanical shocks caused by, e.g., changes in air pressure, made it a material of great interest in the early days of aviation. Wood science pioneers gave their best to develop materials and structures that would meet with the highest possible standards, crucial for the survival of the pilots. This work laid foundations to understand the performance of different wood species in different orthotropic directions and environmental conditions, and to minimize the effects of wood’s inherent flaws. In addition, fundamental models were developed on the fatigue and creep behaviour of wood and structures made of it. Wood modification, i.e., property engineering, and wood gluing took substantial steps ahead. Although wood was replaced in aircrafts by other materials with better performance and more uniform properties just some decades later, the fundamental wood science work did not lose its value. The legacy of Mosquito is still visible in everyday use of wood in architecture, civil engineering, and design.
Just now, we are living the new age of discovery in wood science. Instead of physics, the greatest research and development efforts are now allocated in wood chemistry. Bio-refineries, conventionally known as pulp mills, separate and further process more and more compounds out of wood, replacing non-renewable or environmentally problematic materials in the markets. Products other-than-pulp help to stabilize the effects of fluctuat