Gluing is an integral part of the majority of production processes in the timber industry. The effectiveness of adhesive application, glue bond development and glue penetration into the wood structure is becoming more and more important as more structural glued timber products are used in construction and other applications. The continued increase in utilisation of mass timber products (MTPs) such as CLT, glulam and LVL in tall timber buildings requires an accurate and in-depth understanding of adhesive roles and their performance effectiveness during the life span of any of those products in relation to the type of loading applied, environmental effects (e.g. RH and temperature) and in-service condition of elements (e.g. exposure to major wet events and degradation from decay). This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of existing imaging and other visualisation methods used to assess the glue line properties and examine the performance of glue lines in relation to factors such as species, product type and environmental conditions during manufacture and in-service life.
Part of the book: Engineered Wood Products for Construction
The Australian timber industry generated $23.1b in revenue in 2019–2020, contributing $7.2b to Australia’s gross domestic product. Total Australian timber export in 2019–2020 was estimated at over $3b, with log exports of approximately $650 m. Major export destinations are China, Japan, and New Zealand, with China importing over $1.6b of Australian timber products. An effective two-way tracing system will help secure product export to these major trading partners by eliminating product rejections due to a lack of certification, treatment, and pest management traceability, and enhancing the certification of product performance and compliance of imported structural and non-structural products. An opportunity exists to promote the development of proposed tracing systems to major import trading partners as a means of proving product integrity and maintaining market share as Australia continues to eliminate practices that facilitate illegal logging processes. This review aims to highlight the need for a national product tracing system in place for the Australian timber industry. This review aims to present information about current and potential future technologies that the timber industry can use across the supply chain to trace and monitor product quality and origin.
Part of the book: Wood Industry