Mechanical properties and decay resistance of wood–polymer composites prepared from fast growing species in Turkey

Some mechanical properties of wood–polymer composites from maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) and poplar (Populus x. euramericana cv. I-214) wood were investigated. Three different monomers; styrene (ST), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene/methyl methacrylate (ST/MMA) mixture were used in preparation of wood–polymer composites (WPCs). Full-loading (FL), half-loading (HL) and quarter-loading (QL) were used as polymer content levels. Untreated pine and pine–polymer composite samples were tested in compression strength parallel to grain and static bending strength. WPCs mechanical properties increased compared to untreated wood. The polymer had greater effect on the strengths of the ST/MMA treated pine than on the ST and MMA treated pine samples. Increasing of the mechanical properties should improve the structural competitiveness of WPCs made from fast growing-low density woods. Weight losses due to fungal attack for pine and poplar–polymer composites were also determined. Although polymers at full and half loading levels helped decreasing weight losses due to both fungi for each wood species, weight losses were still found to be higher.