Browsing by Author "Aro, Matthew D"

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    Differences in Particulate Matter (Dust) Between Non-modified and Light-Modified (170°C) Wood Species
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2018-11-12) Aro, Matthew D; Monson Geerts, Stephen D; French, Suzanne; Cai, Meijun
    There has been much speculation on whether the practice of heat modification of various wood species has a direct effect on the dust created when these woods are machined. An initial study was initiated to compare non-modified wood species with their lightly modified (170 °C) counterparts, specifically as a gravimetric characterization of the wood particulate matter (PM) generated through typical cutting practices. Five different species were compared, including: Yellow Poplar, Red Maple, White Ash, Aspen and Balsam Fir. Aerosol wood PM sampling was conducted at the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) as collaboration between the Wood Utilization Materials & Bio-Economy (Wood Group) and the Mineral/Materials Characterization Group, a sub-group within the Minerals – Metallurgy - Mining (M3) NRRI Initiative Group. The study was designed primarily as a first-pass analysis in which size-fractionated sampling, based on aerodynamic diameter of the dust particles, was utilized to evaluate if there were any dramatic differences between the non-modified and light modified (170 °C) wood species.
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    Preliminary Life-Cycle Assessment of Hennepin County Bridge 27C53
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2020-01) Aro, Matthew D
    The University of Minnesota Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) completed a preliminary, screening cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessment (LCA) of Hennepin County, MN bridge 27C53, which was constructed on County Road 202 in the Elm Creek Park Reserve. The LCA utilized data from the bill of materials (BOM) and construction drawings, which were provided by Dr. Brian Brashaw of the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (FPL). The system boundary included material and fuel consumption for timber and structural steel materials fabrication; material and fuel consumption for fabrication of steel hardware, bituminous overlay, and related components; and transport of materials to the construction site. Because this preliminary screening LCA study was cradle-to-gate, use phase activities and disposal/recycling of the timber bridge were excluded. The majority of the life-cycle inventory data was secondary data from the DATASMART life-cycle inventory (LCI) database. This study also used the cut-off approach method for recycling and utilized the LTS 2019 method to translate the LCI data into environmental impacts; this method combines the ReCiPe Endpoint (H) v1.03 method with three endpoint categories (Human Health, Ecosystems, Resources) and the Cumulative Energy Demand, Climate Change, and Water Use impact categories. It was found that the bituminous (asphalt) overlay generally accounted for the largest impact in most impact categories, ranging from 9% to 46%, while the nail-laminated deck panels contributed 18% to 24% of the impacts in five of the six impact categories. The steel hardware, structural steel, and copper naphthenate (CuNap)-treated solid timber components contributed an average of 25%, 8%, and 5% of the impacts in each impact category, respectively.
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    Preliminary Life-Cycle Assessment of St. Louis County Bridge SLC 516
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2020-01) Aro, Matthew D
    The University of Minnesota Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) completed a preliminary, screening cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessment (LCA) of St. Louis County, MN bridge 516, which was constructed approximately 7.4 miles W/SW of Babbitt, MN over the Embarrass River. The LCA utilized data from the bill of materials (BOM) and construction drawings, which were provided by Dr. Brian Brashaw of the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (FPL). The system boundary included material and fuel consumption for timber and structural steel materials fabrication; material and fuel consumption for fabrication of steel hardware, bituminous overlay, and related components; and transport of materials to the construction site. Because this preliminary screening LCA study was cradle-to-gate, use phase activities and disposal/recycling of the timber bridge were excluded. The majority of the life-cycle inventory data was secondary data from the DATASMART life-cycle inventory (LCI) database. This study also used the cut-off approach method for recycling and utilized the LTS 2019 method to translate the LCI data into environmental impacts; this method combines the ReCiPe Endpoint (H) v1.03 method with three endpoint categories (Human Health, Ecosystems, Resources) and the Cumulative Energy Demand, Climate Change, and Water Use impact categories. It was found that the steel beam supports account for the largest portion of total impacts in each impact category, ranging from 32% to 77%, while the glulam deck panels contribute 24% to 36% of the impacts in four of the six impact categories. The galvanized steel components and asphalt contribute an average of 12% and 7% of the impacts in each impact category, respectively.
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    Progress Report: Using Thermal Modification Technology to Add Value to Small-Diameter Logs
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2019-03) Donahue, Patrick K; Aro, Matthew D
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    Progress Report: Using Thermal Modification Technology to Add Value to Small‐Diameter Logs from Underutilized Species
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2020-03) Donahue, Patrick K; Aro, Matthew D
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    Using Thermal Modification Technology to Add Value to Small-Diameter Logs from Underutilized Species: Final Report
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2021-10) Donahue, Patrick K; Aro, Matthew D; Xie, Xinfeng; Larkin, Glenn
    The project investigated mechanical, physical, and biological durability of thermally modified (170°C and 180°C) white ash (Fraxinus americana), red maple (Acer rubrum), yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and balsam fir (Abies balsamea) lumber. The test results demonstrate the effect of thermal treatment on the physical and mechanical properties. The biological durability results, tested according to American Wood Protection Association(AWPA) standards, suggest one hardwood (white ash), and two softwoods (balsam fir and eastern hemlock) may meet minimum service life thresholds for AWPA above-ground-use classification.