Become a member
Membership of IUFRO is open to any institution concerned with the promotion, support or conduct of research related to forests, trees and forest products.
This Research Group deals with any wood or lignocellulosic material glued or mixed together in a binder system, and referred to as a composite product. Sustainability of raw materials for producing all manufactured items and feedstocks is an important issue in the world today. It is becoming less and less acceptable from a societal viewpoint to use fossil fuel resources such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas as raw material feedstocks because they are not renewable except on an unacceptably long time frame. Renewable materials, such as timber and agricultural crops are sustainable and environmentally acceptable for the production of many different types of manufactured items.
For the purposes of this Research Group, the term composite is being used to describe any wood material glued together. This product mix ranges from fiberboard to laminated beams and components, and are used for a number of structural and nonstructural applications in product lines ranging from panels for interior covering purposes to panels for exterior uses in furniture and support structures in many different types of buildings. Because wood properties vary among species, between trees of the same species, and between pieces from the same tree, solid wood cannot match reconstituted wood in the range of properties that can be controlled in processing. With reconstituted wood materials, changes in properties are studied at the fiber, particle, flake, or veneer level. Properties of these materials can be changed by combining, reorganizing, or stratifying the constituent elements.
One major objective of this group is to present topics of general interest to the international forestry community on wood composite topics, and by providing a forum for discussing the critical issues facing the manufacture and use of these products in the world today.
A second objective is to provide presentations and a forum to discuss the research conducted by international scientists in this area. Typically, these conferences, workshops or technical forums include research topics which focus on technologies that improve or facilitate the value-added utilization of wood and fiber resources in an environmentally acceptable manner. Sessions at conferences in which Research Group 5.05 participates are organized around invited papers that give general state-of-the-art reviews, and on volunteered papers from scientists working on various research topics in these areas. In planning international meetings, workshops, and technical forums, concerted efforts are made to complement, and not compete with or duplicate other entities that organize similar events on an international basis.
The Research Group Coordinator and Deputy are responsible for facilitating communications with and between Working Party Coordinators of the Composites and Reconstituted Products Research Group, and for preparing annual progress reports for IUFRO and synthesis reports for IUFRO World Congresses.
The Research Group and the specific Working Parties that are a part of this Group welcome new members. If you have a specific interest in a particular aspect of Wood Composites, you are encouraged to contact any of the leaders and become involved in our many different activities, technical meetings and workshops.
