Low moisture veneer and regions of sapwood within hickory engineered wood flooring bonded with soy-flour adhesive are thought to be factors leading to potential performance deficiencies. The goal of this research was to gain a broader understanding of bonding low moisture hickory veneer with soy-based adhesive. Soyad® is of particular interest due to its novel cross-linking chemistry. Impacts of moisture content and wood region (heartwood versus sapwood) were analyzed with dry and wet shear bond strength tests, measurement of percent wood failure, lathe check characterization, and adhesive bondline thickness and penetration depth measurement. Impact of wood region and type (hickory versus red oak) was assessed by comparing wood buffering capacity and delamination following three-cycle water soaking.
Dry and wet shear strength values met expectations for engineered wood flooring yet percentage wood failure results were uniformly very low for all combinations of moisture levels and wood regions. In contrast, delamination following wet and dry cycling was minor and within minimum requirements for all specimens tested. The influence of moisture level, wood region and type were inconsistent; statistically significant relationships were not evident within the moisture range studied. However, different wood regions and types exhibited differing veneer buffering capacities that had potential to interfere with pH requirements of Soyad®. Additional study of buffering capacity and resin cure is recommended to determine the significance of the buffering capacity results found in this study. / Master of Science / Performance issues including debonding and delamination have been reported for hickory engineered wood flooring products constructed using a soy-flour based adhesive. Sapwood regions within the composite and extremely low moisture veneer were provided by industry as possible factors that resulted in performance deficiencies. The goal of this research project was to gain a broader understanding of bonding low moisture hickory veneer with Soyad® adhesive. Soy-flour adhesive systems offer many environmental, health, and durability advantages. Soyad® is of particular interest due to its use of natural, renewable soy flour, a novel cross-linking resin, and no added formaldehyde. Test specimens were prepared using heartwood of hickory and red oak and sapwood of hickory. Analytical tests included determination of certain chemical properties of the adhesive and wood veneer, measurement of strength properties of the adhesive bond, and assessment of delamination tendencies of bonded panels following water soaking. Results indicate that moisture levels and the different growth regions and wood type had an inconsistent impact on the bond strengths yet percent wood failure was uniformly low and considered unacceptable by industry. Although this research established a foundation of basic knowledge, more information about adhesive bonding of wood with the recently developed soy based adhesives is needed to optimize the systems and provide technological advancements that lead to more efficient and safe utilization of woody materials from the forest.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/89922 |
| Date | 10 June 2019 |
| Creators | Wykle, Cody James |
| Contributors | Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Zink-Sharp, Audrey G., Hindman, Daniel P., Frazier, Charles E. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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