Wood Treatment Combining Durability and Flame Retardancy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wood and engineered wood products fail to achieve combined durability against fungal decay and insect attack, as well as flame retardancy, meeting global standards for Bushfire and Forest Fire applications, due to limitations in chemical treatment processes and availability of durable Flame Retardant treated wood products.
Innovation Solution
A process combining wood preservatives and alkali metal silicates or aluminates-based flame retardants, using impregnation, spray, or immersion systems, followed by a heat fixation process to create a durable Flame Retardant treated wood product that meets Australian and USA standards for Bushfire and Forest Fire resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional chemical treatment processes are used to impregnate wood with preservatives, then durability against fungal decay and insect attack is improved, but flame retardancy is insufficient to meet bushfire and forest fire standards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines wood preservatives and flame retardants into a single integrated treatment system. The working solution contains both preservative chemicals and flame retardant chemicals that are impregnated into the wood simultaneously, achieving both durability and flame retardancy in one treatment process rather than separate applications
Solution Approach 2:
The treatment creates a composite chemical system within the wood structure, where preservative chemicals and flame retardant chemicals work together to provide multiple protective functions. The wood substrate becomes a composite material with enhanced properties combining both durability and fire resistance
2Reliability
If wood is treated with combined preservatives and flame retardants using impregnation systems, then both durability and flame retardancy are achieved, but the complexity of the treatment process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The impregnation system is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it delivers both preservative chemicals and flame retardant chemicals into the wood, achieves both durability and fire protection, and can treat various wood types and products through a single unified process platform
Solution Approach 2:
The treatment process is segmented into distinct functional components: the working solution formulation stage, the impregnation delivery stage, and the chemical fixation stage. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall process integration
3Manufacturing precision
If dry substrates are used in impregnation processes to provide free space for fluid uptake, then preservative penetration is improved, but the application of flame retardants is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameters of the working solution, allowing it to be applied in different forms including water-based solutions that can be sprayed or immersed. The flame retardant chemicals are formulated to be soluble or dispersible in the aqueous carrier, enabling liquid phase application that penetrates wood effectively
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process results in wood products with enhanced durability and flame retardancy, meeting stringent standards for Bushfire and Forest Fire resistance, including Australian Standard AS 3959-2009 and USA Forest Fire Standards, while maintaining waterborne preservative penetration and retention properties.
Implementation Method 1
conventional chemical treated timber (wood preservatives) involves the impregnation of lignocellulosic material such as wood and engineered wood products with chemical preservatives and other like compositions, using various vacuum and pressure cycles
Implementation Method 2
the addition of the combined Flame Retardant [FR] to the wood preservative in the form of a 'working solution' that is then impregnated into the wood
Implementation Method 3
chemical penetration into the cellular internal voids of the lignocellulosic material which becomes insoluble (fixed) on subsequent heating steps
Data Source
AI summary
A treatment process and wood products thereof including a product formulation of a single phase solution combining a wood preservative (durable component) with a Flame Retardant component (FR) to produce a durable Flame Retardant (dFR) treated wood product. The durable component comprises a range of copper based and non-copper based wood preservatives, while the FR component comprises alkali metal silicates and alkali metal aluminate compounds. The dFR working solution undergoes chemical impregnation (treatment) followed by a heat (fixation) process step that locks the chemical into the wood making it non-leachable. The dFR treated wood products are tested for their enhanced fire performance properties. When heated, wood undergoes thermal degradation and combustion producing gases, vapors, tars and chars. Using a cone calorimeter burn test method, dFR treated wood products show a significant reduction in heat release rate, mass loss rate and smoke generated values compared to untreated radiate pine.