Shear strength and subterranean termite resistance of polystyrene impregnated sengon (Falcataria moluccana) glulam

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate shear strength and improve the resistance of glulam from sengon (Falcataria moluccana) wood through the preliminary treatment of polystyrene impregnation. Sengon laminas were impregnated with polystyrene and made into two-layer glulam using isocyanate adhesives. The glulam was tested for shear strength according to American Standard for Testing Materials D-905-98, and exposed to subterranean termite attack in the laboratory scale according to Indonesian standard SNI 7207-2014. The untreated glulam and solid wood were used as a comparison purposes, and the tested samples were six replicas. The polymer loading of polystyrene glulam was 28.7%. The results showed that shear strength of solid wood was not significantly different from glulam, it means that impregnation process of the styrene on sengon wood does not affect the gluing process. The polystyrene impregnated glulam had better resistant to termite attack than solid wood, but it was not significantly different from the untreated glulam. To get better resistance it could be further study for higher polymer loading in glulam manufacturing.