School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemAn investigation on peeling recovery and quality of senile plantation-grown rubber trees in Laos(Springer (part of Springer Nature), 2020)The study assessed the peeling potential of rubber trees past the prime latex-producing age when the latex yields become non-economical. Fifteen 25-year-old plantation-grown trees were harvested and peeled using spindleless lathe technology. Following peeling, veneer sheets were measured and graded to determine volume and quality recoveries. Relationships between billet characteristics and recoveries or quality were examined and a recovery predictive model proposed. Most of the main causes identified for downgrading face veneers were either processing-related issues or drying-induced defects. Thus, a combination of several optimisation techniques could annihilate most of the main causes of downgrading veneer, potentially leading to a substantial proportion of higher-quality veneers typically used where surface decorative appearance is a primary consideration. The results demonstrated that rubber trees past their latex-producing prime from unthinned and unpruned stands have qualities and desirable traits to potentially produce certain high-value engineered wood products. Senile rubber trees in Laos could represent significant additional revenue to growers and a source of raw material to the industry which, theoretically, could be converted into high-value products if other factors can be overcome.
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ItemPlaning characteristics of Papua New Guinea timber species from plantations and regrowth forests(SPRINGER, 2020-03)Although Papua New Guinea (PNG) has a rich and diverse forest cover, there is limited information on processing characteristics for plantations and regrowth forests available. Consequently, the PNG timber processing industry is restricted to a few species, producing low-quality products, which limits opportunities for the processors. Sound knowledge of machining characteristics based on some systematic methods has been identified as essential for assessing the ability in processing raw material into appearance products. Therefore, a testing program was conducted to assess the planing characteristics and most common causes for planing degrade of 25 species sourced from the Morobe and West New Britain provinces, PNG. A total of 18 wood species proved to machine very well with more than 90% of assessed boards being graded either “excellent and requiring very light sanding” or “good and requiring light sanding”. Eight species from this group obtained a perfect score, i.e. requiring very light sanding.
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ItemHigh-Tech Modular Building Components with High Contents of Australian Hardwoods(Forest & Wood Products Australia Limited, 2020-03-23)
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ItemAssessing the potential of hemp hurd (Cannabis sativa L.) for the production of environmentally friendly lightweight panels(The Industrial Hemp Western Australia Association Inc, 2020)Presentation prepared for the 2nd Australian Industrial Hemp Conference in Fremantle, WA from 25 -28 February 2020. Abstract and slides.
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ItemASSESSMENT OF PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA TIMBER SPECIES(UNIV BIO-BIO, 2020-01)A comprehensive testing program has been developed to assess different physical and mechanical properties of 26 commercial and lesser-known PNG species from secondary and plantation forests. The impact of log position in a tree on the mechanical properties has also been assessed to optimize the utilization of timbers along the value chain. The results showed that stiffness and bending strength tend to decrease or remain unchanged along the stem. Shear strength and Janka hardness displayed a similar trend to a lesser extent where the position in the tree had a limited impact on compression strength properties. Thus, segregating based on log position can be of interest where desired mechanical properties and costs associated with segregating justify optimum mechanical properties for the intended end use. The properties of selected species from plantations and regrowth forests were generally lower than those found in the literature for timbers from old-growth forests. The size of specimens tested, the amount and provenance of tested material, and some adaptive traits for tropical tree species are some factors potentially explaining observed differences. However, a comparison with recent studies tends to confirm the overall reduction of physical and mechanical properties when compared with old-growth forests timbers.
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ItemAdvancing enhanced wood manufacturing industries in Laos and Australia - PML Easbeam Study Tour( 2019-11-01)This study tour was undertaken as a component of VALTIP 3 Activity 3.2 of Objective 3 (Develop and conduct formal and informal training programs for industry) in the ACIAR co-funded aid project FST/2016/151 Advancing enhanced wood manufacturing industries in Laos and Australia. The aim of this Study tour was to expose the new project partner PML Easbeam Company to engineered wood product manufacturing, potential markets and industries operating in Australia. The PML Easbeam company is a subsidiary of the PML company and was established in July 2019. The PML Company was successful in tendering for the construction of an add-on facility at the National University of Laos to contain equipment for veneer-based product production research. Subsequently, as an established construction company, the company saw the potential and were interested in engineered wood products made from wood veneer, in particular laminated veneer lumber (LVL) structural beams. At the point of writing this report, PML Easbeam is in the process of setting up an LVL plant in Vientiane to manufacture LVL beams using certified, plantation eucalyptus material for domestic and international markets. The PML Easbeam Company financed the study tour themselves. The expected mid to long-term outcome of this exposure is to facilitate the uptake of veneer-based processing and product development in Laos PDR. Previous research conducted during ACIAR co-funded aid project: FST/2008/039 Enhancement of veneer products from acacia and eucalypt plantations in Vietnam and Australia, identified spindleless-lathes as the most likely evolutionary technology to improve the productivity of processing small plantation-logs in Lao PDR. The veneer processing sector in Vietnam is well established and involves 4,200 wood processing and trading enterprises and in the order of thousands of household businesses employing over 300,000 labourers operating in over 300 traditional wood-processing villages (To and Quang, 2012). During surveys of small rural areas of Northern Vietnam, Ozarska et al. (2015) identified that exporters of peeled veneer to China and India cannot meet the demand of these countries. Therefore, this undersupply could provide potential export markets of processed veneer from small plantation-logs currently growing in Lao PDR.
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ItemAdvancing Enhanced Wood Manufacturing Industries in Laos and Australia - Rubberwood and Eucalyptus K7 Panel Manufacturing September 2019 (Internal Report)( 2019-10-09)This report presents an overview of a research and training activity conducted at the Faculty of Forestry, National University of Laos, between 10-13 September 2019. The aim of the activity was to: • Provide hands-on training on plywood and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) manufacturing to Valtip 3 team members (4) and 3rd- and 4th- year students from the Faculty of Forestry at the National University of Laos (8); • Prepare plywood and LVL panels (dimensions: 1.2 m x 1.2 m) from rubberwood and eucalyptus K7 using phenol-formaldehyde (PF) and long open time polyurethane (PUR) adhesives; • Prepare promotional and mechanical testing samples to assess the selected species and manufacturing conditions (material to be tested in November 2019).
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ItemEnhancing the knowledge of wood properties and processing characteristics of PNG timbers - Gluing characteristics of PNG timber species for various wood product applications( 2019-02-01)Gluing is considered one of the most important technologies in the production of value-added wood product. In the majority of wood products, both appearance (e.g. furniture, flooring) and structural (e.g. glue-laminated beams, plywood, LVL) timber elements are joined together into larger components through edge and surface laminating, finger jointing and other types of joints. In order to meet requirements and criteria for strength and performance of glued components and products a sound knowledge of gluing characteristics of PNG timbers is required. The present document presents the gluability behaviour of 24 species sourced from the Morobe and West New Britain provinces, Papua New Guinea. Seven species have been harvested from plantations and 17 from secondary forests. The group included 3 softwoods and 21 hardwoods. Two species, Eucalyptus pellita and Wau Beech (Magnolia tsiampacca) could not be assessed because of lack of enough timber. The report is based on activity 1.5 results which consisted in laboratory testing of glue-bond strength and performance of various types of glues for PNG selected timber species in various climatic conditions to simulate service conditions in potential market destinations. Two criteria, namely shear strength and wood failure, have been used to determine if a species can meet the minimum requirements for either dry use or wet use applications. Five species showed to bond very well i.e. achieved satisfactory results for both dry use and wet use applications: PNG Basswood (Endospermum medullosum), White Cheesewood (Alstonia scholaris), Erima (Octomeles sumatrana), Labula (Anthocephalus chinensis), and Klinki Pine (Araucaria hunsteinii). A second group of seven species provided results satisfying or able of satisfying the requirements for dry use applications: Grey Canarium (Canarium oleosum), Pencil Cedar (Palaquium warbargianum), Pangium (Pangium edule), Caribbean Pine (Pinus caribaea), Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghamii), PNG Quandong (Elaeocarpus sphaericus), Taun (Pometia pinnata), and Brown Terminalia (Terminalia brassii). Where PNG Boxwood (Xanthopyllum papuanum), Kwila (Intsia bijuga), PNG Mersawa (Anisoptera thurifera), PNG Rosewood (Pterocarpus indicus), and PNG Vitex (Vitex cofassus) could not meet the requirements for dry use applications using a standard cross-linking PVA, preliminary trials using a non-structural polyurethane showed they could possibly satisfy the requirements for dry use applications and even wet use applications in some cases (e.g. PNG Vitex). Two species classified under bond with difficulty, namely White Albizia (Falcataria moluccana) and Water Gum (Syzygium spp.), would most probably achieve satisfactory results (i.e. upgrade to bond well) with optimisation of gluing parameters. Four species provided low shear strength results and very limited wood failure resulting in them being classified as very difficult to bond: Blackbean (Castanospermum australe), Heavy Hopea (Hopea iriana), Kamarere (Eucalyptus deglupta), and Malas (Homalium foetidum). Not surprisingly, most of them are high or very high-density species which are known to be very difficult to bond. One species (Heavy Hopea) failed to meet the requirements for both dry and wet uses when using EPI. Such species would probably need some mechanical or chemical surface treatment to improve adhesion. Additional tests with dense species from 2nd batch i.e. Blackbean, Water Gum, Kamarere, and Malas would also be recommended to fully assess their suitability for non-structural applications.
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ItemA Wood Recovery Assessment Method Comparison between Batch and Cellular Production Systems in the Furniture Industry(AMER SOC TESTING MATERIALS, 2019)Abstract Enhanced wood recovery mirrors a successful wood manufacturing operation. Studies of wood recovery in secondary wood processing, however, are scarce, particularly in furniture manufacturing. Although recovery rates are under the continuous surveillance of sophisticated technology, this attempt to monitor wood recovery would be especially challenging for small- to medium-sized furniture enterprises, as the capital investment in such technology would be substantial. This would hinder the possibility for improvements in production efficiency of the furniture industry. A methodology of wood recovery assessment in the furniture industry has been developed and proposed but has not been validated with a cellular production system, a different layout process and distinctive machinery, species, and other customer requirements. The objective of this study is to assess the wood recovery protocol individually used in batch and cellular production systems, followed by examining the wood recovery of furniture manufacturing in these distinct production systems. Two Indonesian medium-sized furniture companies that individually operate batch and cellular production systems were employed, and two methods, mass and volume, were used to assess wood recovery at each furniture-making station. There was a significant difference in cumulative wood recovery rates between batch and cellular production systems. Based on species and product dimensions, the average individual and cumulative wood recovery rates of furniture manufacturing resulted in a significant difference at the resawing and edging station. Large-dimension product recorded higher wood recovery level than small-dimension product. The wood recovery rates at the resawing and edging, surface planing, thickness planing, and trimming stations were mostly influenced by species, the quality of sawn timber, and cutting bills. Meanwhile, wood recovery at other stations was affected by product dimension and design. The mass method was the most acceptable method according to the measurement systems analysis.