Giggi
Well-Known Member
So here's my thinking. Wood (assuming it's a high-performance species like spruce) is a much better structural material than fiberglass composite by almost every metric... in theory. In reality, wood's mechanical properties are dependent on its natural grain structure and resin content, and structural optimization is more difficult than with glass because wood doesn't bend or conform to molds so easily.
Of course, the issue of grain orientation can be overcome by lamination, and laminated wood is used very often in aircraft construction in the form of plywood and sometimes laminated spar caps. However, the level of structural optimization in wooden planes is generally much lower than that of composite ones. This, I think, is because wood is already lighter than glass and so optimization isn't as important, and for most designs the extra effort wouldn't be justified.
Suppose though that for some reason you need an airframe with unusually high strength/weight, with a budget that doesn't allow for a hundred pounds of carbon fiber. If you sliced your wood into thin veneers and arranged it creatively, maybe with some steam bending, could you do anything with it that you could with glass or carbon, including vacuum resin infusion?
I know laminated wood is commonly vacuum-bagged with rolled-on glue, so perhaps wood just isn't porous enough for infusion. However, I've read that it's been done successfully with bamboo, and that vacuum infusion is used to dye and stabilize wood, but there's not a lot of information about infusing with epoxy for bonding purposes. Thus the question.
Of course, the issue of grain orientation can be overcome by lamination, and laminated wood is used very often in aircraft construction in the form of plywood and sometimes laminated spar caps. However, the level of structural optimization in wooden planes is generally much lower than that of composite ones. This, I think, is because wood is already lighter than glass and so optimization isn't as important, and for most designs the extra effort wouldn't be justified.
Suppose though that for some reason you need an airframe with unusually high strength/weight, with a budget that doesn't allow for a hundred pounds of carbon fiber. If you sliced your wood into thin veneers and arranged it creatively, maybe with some steam bending, could you do anything with it that you could with glass or carbon, including vacuum resin infusion?
I know laminated wood is commonly vacuum-bagged with rolled-on glue, so perhaps wood just isn't porous enough for infusion. However, I've read that it's been done successfully with bamboo, and that vacuum infusion is used to dye and stabilize wood, but there's not a lot of information about infusing with epoxy for bonding purposes. Thus the question.
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