Wood Analysis and Computing Lab

Wood is very versatile as a material. However, as a natural material wood also is a very complicated material, this is true for solid wood as well as fiber sheets and wood composites. In Germany, several research institutes conduct research on wood, but only Kaiserslautern has instituted an image processing department that manages a lab that combines innovative image processing with timber construction. The fundamental concept is not only to combine various analytical techniques, but also to replace or expand traditional testing methods, at least partially, through modeling and simulation of wood materials. The lab is not intended to compete with other labs existing in Kaiserslautern (Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), Institute for Composite Materials IVW ), rather to complement them with new methods and simulations.

The structural design of wood depends on the intended use as the requirements for durability/strength, resistance to moisture, and temperature fluctuations, thermal insulation, sound absorption, etc. vary greatly depending on the application. This applies to the wood itself as well as to combinations with other wood parts and with other materials. The situation is similar with composite materials based on other natural fibers (e.g., flax, hemp).

Using mathematical processes, it is possible to predict major properties of a material.

Typical properties are:

• durability
• moisture absorbance/resistance
• characteristics of the adhesives and joints
• thermal transfer
• acoustics, etc.

One of these methods is microstructural analysis based on image data obtained by means of computed tomography. ITWM develops high performance methods of fiber analysis, which enable the determination of fiber direction, fiber diameter and, in the near future, also the distribution of fiber lengths.