PROSPECTS FOR THE USE OF STRUCTURAL MATERIAL BASED ON LOW-VALUE SOFT HARDWOOD WOOD FOR BRIDGES ON HARVESTING ROADS

Abstract

Russia has significant reserves of low-value soft deciduous wood (birch, aspen, alder, poplar), which are practically not processed, the wood rots in the forest and in the lower warehouses. Wood is a good and widespread building material. Due to the significant strength, low volume weight, ease of processing, ease of manufacturing and assembly of structures, wood has long been used for the construction of bridges. At present, despite the widespread use of reinforced concrete bridges, in the forest-rich northern and eastern regions of Russia, wooden bridges can be very useful on logging roads. But wooden bridges have a number of significant drawbacks: they have a short service life, are subject to rot, are not fire-resistant, and do not meet the requirements for passing modern loads. In order to ensure the safe and uninterrupted transport of timber on logging roads, special attention should be paid to the construction material for the construction of bridges. The proposed construction material is based on low-value soft hardwood, has high performance characteristics. To improve the performance of the wood, it is necessary to impregnate it-giving it the desired properties and compress it-thereby increasing the density, hardness and strength. We have developed a technology that combines three main technological operations of wood modification: impregnation, pressing and drying, while allowing us to obtain a structural material with increased performance characteristics, suitable for the manufacture of load-bearing supports, as well as beams of wooden bridges on logging roads.