This project was concluded in 2023.
Project information
Project manager
Tinh Sjökvist
Other project members
Magnus Wålinder, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and Maria Fredriksson, Lund University, Sweden; Marko Petrič, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Participating organizations
Linnaeus University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Lund University, Sweden; University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Financier
Formas
Timetable
Aug 2020–Aug 2023
Subject
Forestry and wood technology (Department of Forestry and Wood Technology, Faculty of Technology)
More about the project
Wood contributes to sustainable development of the society but has challenges outdoors, such as high moisture levels with risk for degradation. A coating can protect the wood. Research on coated wood have often focused on either the performance of the coating or the performance of the wood. However, the moisture sorption of coated wood depends not only on the initial limitations by the coating, but also in combination with the sorption properties of the wood.
The aim of this project is therefore to increase the fundamental knowledge about the dynamic water sorption in coated wood, with an equal focus on the wood and on the coating. Focus on properties (permeability, wettability and for coatings also flexibility) rather than specific wood and coating types, will give general water sorption data that can be used for other wood species and coatings. The information is needed to make a significant leap in the strategic development of new types of coated wood, where wood and coatings can be individually adapted for optimal sorption performance.
Variations in wood permeability will be achieved by density selection of Norway spruce and silver birch, and variation in wood wettability will be achieved by modification of extractive contents. Variation in coating permeability, flexibility and wettability will be made by carefully selected resins and formulas.
The project is part of the research in the Wood protection research group and the Linnaeus Knowledge Environment Green Sustainable Development.
