Woodhead Publishing Wood-Polymer Composites (Woodhead Publishing Series in Composites Science and Engineering)

Wood-polymer composites are becoming more accepted in advanced engineering applications. The latest generation of wood-polymer composites are being used in automotive, civil and marine engineering. Advances in durability, mechanical properties and materials used in their production have allowed a significant increase in their use in outdoor applications such as decking, fencing, utility poles and exterior woodwork on buildings. Wood-polymer composites also benefit from being more sustainable than other, traditional, composites and possess a consistency in quality that cannot be achieved by wood alone. This innovative book provides a comprehensive survey on major new developments in wood-polymer composites and presents current research from leading innovators around the world. Key Features: provides a comprehensive survey of major new developments in wood-polymer composites; reviews the key aspects of manufacture, including raw materials and manufacturing technologies; discusses properties such as durability, creep behaviour and processing performance; concludes by looking at ways of assessing performance and at the range of current and future applications. Contents: Raw materials for wood-polymer composites; Additives for wood-polymer composites; Interactions between wood and synthetic polymers; Manufacturing technologies for wood-polymer composites; Mechanical properties of wood-polymer composites; Micromechanical modelling of wood-polymer composites; Outdoor durability of wood-polymer composites; Creep behaviour and damage of wood-polymer composites; Processing performance of extruded wood-polymer composites; Oriented wood-polymer composites and related materials; Wood-polymer composite foams; Performance measurement and construction applications of wood-polymer composites; Life cycle assessment (LCA) of wood-polymer composites: A case-study; Market and future trends for wood-polymer composites in Europe: The example of Germany; Improving wood-polymer composite products: A case study.