Natural durability of wood of ten native species from northeastern Mexico

Thorn scrub vegetation in Mexico is distributed over 50 million ha, where native tree species are the source of forage, timber, firewood and charcoal. Research describing wood durability of species from this vegetation type has not been fully determined, nor classified according to international standards. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine and classify the natural durability of ten woody species. Their natural durability was determined according to the European Pre-Norm 807, the loss of dynamic modulus of elasticity （MOEdyo） （MPa） was determined and wood mass loss （g） after being exposed to Trametes versicolor and Coniophora puteana fungi. Wood durability was classified accord- ing to the European Norm 350-1. Highly significant differences （p 〈 0.001） were found between the durability of woody species. The more durable species with lower MOEdyn lost were Condalia hooked （57.5% ± 0.6%）, Havardia pallens （58.2% ± 0.4%） and Acacia schaffneri （58.9% ±6.3%）. Species with lower mass loss after exposed to Coniophora puteana were Ebenopsis ebano （6.3% ±1.9%）, Condalia hooked （8.6% ±2.3%） and Cordia boissieri （11.8% ±2.3%）. E. ebano （7.1% ±2.4%）, Condalia hooked （8.2% ± 2.5%） and Cordia boissieri （11.5% ± 3.1%） showed the lower mass lost after exposed to T. versicolor. According to European Norm 350-1, three woody species were classified as very durable and durable species.

A Review of the Advances Made in Improving the Durability of Welded Wood against Water in Light of the Results of African Tropical Woods Welding

Wood plays a major role in the production of furniture and wooden structures.Nevertheless,in this process,the massive use of adhesives and plural connectors remains a definite problem for health and the environment.Therefore,wood welding is a breakthrough in this respect.This paper reviews the applications of wood welding in furniture and construction and then examines advances in improving the durability of welded wood against water.Our contribution also highlights the need to join African tropical woods using the rotational friction welding technique.According to our results,these woods present interesting chemical singularities,which could provide solutions to the water vulnerability of the welded wood.Moreover,the use of such a joining method would first free the Cameroonian furniture industry from the chemical industry,secondly position it at the forefront of new eco-design trends and thirdly make it competitive with other countries in the Central African sub-region.These works enrich the long and rich bibliography on the technique of wood welding,which has long been conspicuous by its absence of tropical woods.

Fluid-structure Interaction Analysis and Lifetime Estimation of a Natural Gas Pipeline Centrifugal Compressor under Near-choke and Near-surge Conditions

Up to present, there have been no studies concerning the application of fluid-structure interaction（FSI） analysis to the lifetime estimation of multi-stage centrifugal compressors under dangerous unsteady aerodynamic excitations. In this paper, computational fluid dynamics（CFD） simulations of a three-stage natural gas pipeline centrifugal compressor are performed under near-choke and near-surge conditions, and the unsteady aerodynamic pressure acting on impeller blades are obtained. Then computational structural dynamics（CSD） analysis is conducted through a one-way coupling FSI model to predict alternating stresses in impeller blades. Finally, the compressor lifetime is estimated using the nominal stress approach. The FSI results show that the impellers of latter stages suffer larger fluctuation stresses but smaller mean stresses than those at preceding stages under near-choke and near-surge conditions. The most dangerous position in the compressor is found to be located near the leading edge of the last-stage impeller blade. Compressor lifetime estimation shows that the investigated compressor can run up to 102.7 h under the near-choke condition and 200.2 h under the near-surge condition. This study is expected to provide a scientific guidance for the operation safety of natural gas pipeline centrifugal compressors.