Course Description
General introduction to wood and wood products. Major uses of wood, characteristics of major wood products, processes involved in their manufacture, and properties of the raw material affecting its quality and use. Topics covered include wood formation, anatomy, chemistry, wood properties, and the processes used to manufacture wood-based products.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students are required to complete a project on one
aspect of the course. The project can be related to a MS/PhD
project, can be an estimate of the costs to produce a particular
product, a background on the uses for a tree species, a review of
the literature on a particular wood property for a tree species,
etc. The assignment is to be arranged between the student and the
instructor.
Athena Title
Wood Properties Utilization
Undergraduate Prerequisite
Enrollment in Professional Program of WSFR and FORS 4650/6650
Graduate Prerequisite
FORS 4650/6650 or permission of school
Undergraduate Corequisite
none
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Learn wood science terminology and classification of wood and wood-based products 2. Develop an understanding of tree growth, wood formation and wood structure 3. Recognize macro and microscopic wood features and use anatomical keys for the purposes of wood identification 4. Relationship between wood and water, and between wood physical and mechanical properties 5. Influence of silviculture on wood quality 6. Basic principles of primary and secondary wood processing
Topical Outline
Week 1 – Introduction to wood and wood products, tree growth, and wood formation Week 2 – Macroscopic features of wood, wood chemistry Weeks 3 to 5 – softwood and hardwood structure, anatomical keys, wood identification Week 6 – juvenile and reaction wood Week 7 – wood and water Week 8 – wood density and mechanical properties of wood Week 9 – wood quality and silviculture Week 10 - wood deterioration and preservation Week 11 – softwood and hardwood lumber, softwood lumber grading Week 12 – Structural composites, nonstructural composites, wood adhesives Week 13 – Mechanical properties of lumber and composite products, wood drying Week 14 – Pulp and paper Week 15 – Wood for energy production, wood chemical products
Syllabus