SNF Sinergia project on wood welding technologies
Prof. Y. Weinand, director of the Chair of Timber Construction (IBOIS/ENAC) is part of a research group, together with Dr Frédéric Pichelin (Haute Ecole Spécialisée Bernoise, architecture, wood and civil engineering), Prof. Dominique Derome (EMPA) and Prof. Antonio Pizzi (ENSTIB-Lermab, Epinal, France), which gets CHF 690 019.- from the SNF for a Sinergia project.
Title of the project : "Welding of Wood : Investigation of phenomena for technology upgrades"
Short abstract : Results of up-scaling tests carried by the EPFL show that, for large pieces of spruce, the shear resistance of the welded joint decrease significally. The surface size has, in consequence, a significant influence on the reistance of the joint by orbital welding. The second phenomenon which occures when large surfaces are welded, is the generation of a high volume of smoke containing a high amount of steam. This steam, under pressure, seems to disturb the process, indeed, inhomogeneities in the large welded areas have been observed. The aim of this workpackage is to understand the phenomenons which are happening by welding large areas and to improve the quality of large welded connections in order that they can be used in wood construction.