Wood for Structural and Architectural Purposes

Authors

  • Conor W. Boyd
  • Peter Koch
  • Herbert B. McKean
  • Charles R. Morschauser
  • Stephen B. Preston
  • Frederick F. Wangaard

Abstract

This paper reports the findings and conclusions of Panel II on Structural Purposes, Committee on Renewable Resources for Industrial Materials (CORRIM), National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council. The Panel examined the use of wood for structural purposes and its conversion from standing trees to primary structural commodities as of 1970, and from this base year developed projections of use to the years 1985 and 2000. Concerns of the Panel included the availability of the renewable resource, the demand for wood products, and particularly the costs in terms of manpower, energy, and capital depreciation involved in production and transportation to the point of use. Comparable data from source to end commodity were compiled for other structural materials including steel, aluminum, concrete, brick, and petrochemical derivatives.

Wood products were found, with few exceptions, to be more homogeneous than nonwood-based commodities in man-hour and capital requirements. However, the most notable differences between wood-based and nonwood-based commodities are in their energy requirements. Commodities based on nonrenewable resources are appreciably more energy intensive per ton of product than are their wood-based counterparts. In part, this is the result of energy self-sufficiency in the manufacturing process attained through the use of wood residues as fuel.

References

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Published

2007-06-05

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Research Contributions