The thermal tree is not inferior in beauty to ordinary wood, in terms of characteristics it surpasses many finishing materials. They can trim the steam rooms of baths, saunas, and other rooms with high humidity. Thermo-tree is suitable for exterior cladding of buildings, facades, pediments, paving paths and more.
The production technology is quite complicated, but you can make your own material similar to thermo-wood. It will be inferior to industrial designs, but suitable for interior decoration.
Production principles
The manufacturing technology of thermal wood is different from conventional woodworking.
With the complete removal of moisture and a number of substances that contribute to decay, wood lasts longer.
In the middle of the 20th century, research began aimed at increasing the strength and wear resistance of materials. This was due to the development of space programs. Developed a technology that allowed to quickly dry wood, remove some substances.
Wood has hemicellulose (wood sugar). It contributes to the appearance and development of the fungus. Its removal allows several tens of times to increase the life of the material.
A thermal tree is obtained by treating ordinary wood in an airless environment at high temperatures.
Technological process
Production Stages:
- Wooden blanks are placed in a vacuum chamber. Close, pump out air, slowly warm up to 180 ° C.
- The appeared steam is saturated with various chemical reagents. After sharply increase the temperature to 240 ° C, affect the workpiece with high pressure. This contributes to the decomposition of hemicellulose. Then the environment conducive to the appearance, development of the fungus, rotting, decomposition of wood is eliminated. This stage is called the stage of increasing biostability.
- Under the influence of pressure and temperature, molecular changes occur in the tree structure. The next stage is stabilization of the state, its consolidation. Stabilization occurs due to the crystallization of cellulose. Depending on the production cycle, this can be achieved chemically or as a result of changes in the temperature regime of cooling.
Chemical treated thermal wood is safe to use..
The technology of making the likeness of a thermal tree at home is simple. You should take a well-dried base - a wooden board or MDF. From improvised materials, make a mold according to the size of the base. The exception is height, it should be slightly larger. Then they take well-dried sawdust, mix them with PVA glue to a thick consistency (60% sawdust, 40% glue). The resulting mixture is poured into a mold on the basis, dried with special devices or without them. After that veneer is glued to the thermal wood.
The resulting material is not suitable for exterior decoration.
Positive and negative qualities
Thermowood:
- Eco friendly. It does not emit harmful substances into the atmosphere.
- It has high wear resistance, strength.
- Not subject to decay. Mold does not form on it.
- It does not deform due to temperature changes, under the influence of moisture.
- It has high thermal insulation performance. It can be used as an additional insulation.
- It can be of various colors and shades.
The disadvantages include the high cost due to the technological difficulties of production.
Where applicable
The material is used in the decoration of steam rooms in baths and saunas, facades, pediments. Thermal tree looks more attractive than siding, other artificial materials.
Suitable for finishing paths to the pools. Boards are laid as a floor covering.