In reference to the LIFE EcoTimberCell project and related to the certification and validation of the EcoTimberCell structural systems that arise from this project, ITeC has recently drafted and delivered the EcoTimberCell Systems Assessment Plan.
The "Guide to the supply and characterisation of structural timber" is a publication that provides knowledge and tools to the forestry and timber construction sector to develop the characterisation of structural timber. Due to its easy reading and abundant graphic material, it can become a very useful reference document for the Galician timber industries and their specialisation.
From LIFE EcoTimberCell we want to highlight the increase in ecosystem services provided by productive forest systems when we apply Certified Sustainable Forest Management (SFM).
We have published our fourth bulletin of the LIFE EcoTimberCell project in Spanish, English, Galician and Catalan language. It is available for download in the Resources section of our website.
Today we received a follow-up visit from the EASME (Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) manager, Hana Mandelikova, and the LIFE EcoTimberCell project's NEEMO monitor, María José de la Torre.
From LIFE EcoTimerCell we want to put in value the ecosystemic services provided by the productive forest systems in which sustainable forest management is applied.
The ETC+ cell has been developed in the framework of Action C3 of LIFE EcoTimberCell project. This is conceived as an EcoTimberCell in which the connection between the board and the wood is made by means of a woodworking fitting, avoiding the use of structural adhesives.
In LIFE EcoTimberCell we are currently working on the different business and marketing lines of the structural systems developed in the project. In order to do this, we consider it essential to know the perception of EcoTimberCell systems, as well as the possible social impact that projects such as this one can generate in mitigating climate change.
In the framework of LIFE EcoTimberCell project, the characterization of the hardboard (Tablex) of Betanzos HB has been carried out, whose manufacture is characterized by not using artificial adhesives to link the wood fibers. They are high density wood fiber boards from local forests, one hundred percent ecological and sustainable. One of the objectives of the project is their incorporation into the EcoTimbercell structural systems, so their characterization seeks to adapt their performance to use with improved qualities of mechanical resistance, moisture and reaction to fire.
The LIFE EcoTimberCell project applies the non-destructive methodology in the determination of mechanical properties, establishing correlations between static laboratory tests and sonic wave propagation tests. Do you want to know how? In the "Guide to the Supply and Grading of Structural Wood" you can consult the procedure followed, the equipment used and the formulas that will allow you to obtain the results for the classification of wood.
The visual classification helps us to analyse the singularities present in a piece of wood and, based on the criteria defined in the reference standards, to determine whether or not that element is valid for a structural purpose. To learn more about how to analyze the anatomical characteristics of wood and the regulations that govern this process, please consult the "Guide to the Supply and Grading of Structural Wood".
These are some of the questions posed by the "Guide to the Supply and Grading of Structural Wood", which seeks to provide answers based on the bibliography, the applicable regulations, the experience of the PEMADE Platform in the study of wood for structural purposes, and the results obtained in the progress of the LIFE EcoTimberCell project.
In Galicia, as in the rest of Spain, the certified forest area continues to increase year after year. 2019 closed with a total of 2.600.000 hectares of certified area in Spain, of which Galicia represents almost 10%. For more information, please consult the "Guide to the Supply and Grading of Structural Wood".
The business project Timbersoul Innovations, generated in the context of LIFE EcoTimberCell has been awarded in the VI Edición Concurso de Proxectos Empresariais Semente Ribeira Sacra.
Next October, the LIFE EcoTimberCell project has the honor of participating as a speaker in the Webinar "Climate neutral food and wood", organized by the Directorate General for Climate Action of the European Commission (DG CLIMA) and the Executive Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises (EASME), which will bring together for the occasion successful LIFE and Horizon 2020 projects in the areas of agriculture, food, forestry and bioeconomy. The four sectors receive financial support for research from both European programs and contribute to the fight against climate change and ensure the proper functioning of the food and wood value chains.
Considering the high variability of the characteristics and singularities of the wood, there is the necessity to carry out a process of classification that allows its characterization like structural wood. The recently published “Guía de suministro y caracterización de madera estructural” details this process based on the application of current regulations for the calculation of characteristic values and the assignment of qualities and class resistance to wood.
Wood has variability in its properties, not only depending on the species, as well for the local environment conditions and the silviculture techniques applied. It is therefore essential to know the particular properties of local wood from sustainable forest management, which will be used in the manufacture of EcoTimberCell structural systems.
In LIFE EcoTimberCell project, the characterization of the TABLEX board manufactured by Betanzos HB is carried out in order to obtain the main properties that define the behavior of the board. For more information, please consult the HB Board Catalogue.
In order to know this value in the case of TABLEX board used in LIFE EcoTimberCell project, the indications of the UNE-EN ISO 12572 standard "Hygrothermal performance of products and materials for buildings" are followed. Determination of water vapour transmission properties". This parameter and many others related to the physical and mechanical properties of TABLEX can be consulted in HB Board Catalogue.
We have published our third LIFE EcoTimberCell project newsletter. You can consult it in Spanish, Galician, Catalan and English, in the Resources section of our website.
Rosa Arcas, Innovation Director of Betanzos HB, has been on Radio Voz, in the program Voces de Galicia with Eva Villar, to talk about the LIFE EcoTimberCell project and the proposal of ecological construction with wood that it proposes.
Today we present the project LIFE Repolyuse-REcovery of POLYurethane for reUSE in eco-efficient materials, a climate change mitigation project like LIFE EcoTimberCell focused on solving the environmental challenge of scarcity of resources and waste management in order to mitigate the effects of climate change.