CEMWOGEO

Cement coating of wood for geotechnical applications

Although wood has been used in the field of soil stabilisation and building foundations since ancient times, the recent intensification of research and development into the use of renewable raw materials in construction has not expanded into geotechnical engineering. On the contrary, in recent decades this renewable raw material has largely been replaced by steel and concrete in geotechnical applications, due mainly to limitiations in durability of wood used in-ground. Publications from previous experiments observed a positive effect of cement on wood durability (Brischke et al., 2014; Goodell et al., 1997; Papadopoulos, 2008). These observations will be at the centre of this project, as cement treatment can improve durability of solid wood and laminated veneer lumber without the use of chemical wood preservatives.
CEMWOGEO aims to investigate the interaction of cement and wood and the resulting effects on durability.

To this end, the following project goals are defined:

Development of an innovative cement treatment/coating system

Define cement-wood interaction as well as the changes, if any, in wood anatomical structure

Validate laboratory durability data using accompanying field trials and lifetime analyses