School of Sciences and Engineering Flooring Systems from Locally Grown Casuarina Wood: Performance evaluation based on simulated in-service testing A Thesis Submitted to Construction Engineering Department In partial fulfilment of the requirements for The degree of Master of Science in Construction Engineering By Tariq Almahallawi Under the supervision of Dr. Khaled Nassar Prof. of Construction Engineering department The American University in Cairo Department of Construction Engineering TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Problem Statement ...................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Objectives of this research .......................................................................................... 7 1.3 Organization of this research....................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 9 2.1 Performance of wood flooring systems ..................................................................... 10 2.2 Engineered Wood Flooring ....................................................................................... 12 2.3 Finite element method design ................................................................................... 13 2.4 Bamboo Flooring....................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 3: DEVELOPMENT OF WOOD FLOORING SYSTEM ............................. 14 3.1 Classification ............................................................................................................. 15 3.1.1 Egyptian Classification ...................................................................................... 15 3.1.2 American Standards for wooden floors ............................................................. 16 3.1.3 European Standards for wooden floors .............................................................. 17 3.2 Testing of Wood Flooring ......................................................................................... 18 3.3 Lamparquet Design ................................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER 4: METHODS AND MATERIALS ............................................................... 23 4.1 Experimental Design ................................................................................................. 24 4.1.1 Type of wood ..................................................................................................... 24 4.1.2 Finish Type ........................................................................................................ 24 ii | P a g e The American University in Cairo Department of Construction Engineering 4.1.3 Testing................................................................................................................ 25 4.2 Samples and Apparatus ............................................................................................. 26 4.2.1 Concentrated Loading ........................................................................................ 26 4.2.2 Falling ball indentation ...................................................................................... 28 4.2.3 Janka Hardness................................................................................................... 29 4.2.4 Rolling Load ...................................................................................................... 32 4.2.5 Floor surface indentation from small area loads ................................................ 34 4.2.6 Surface wetting .................................................................................................. 36 4.2.7 Coefficient of friction ........................................................................................ 37 4.2.8 Abrasion Resistance ........................................................................................... 38 4.2.9 Resistance to Staining & Cigarette Burns .......................................................... 39 CHAPTER 5: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ................................................................. 40 5.1 Analysis of results ..................................................................................................... 41 5.1.1 Concentrated Loading ........................................................................................ 43 5.1.2 Falling ball indentation ...................................................................................... 50 5.1.3 Janka Hardness................................................................................................... 59 5.1.4 Rolling Load ...................................................................................................... 63 5.1.5 Floor surface indentation from small area loads ................................................ 73 5.1.6 Surface wetting .................................................................................................. 74 5.1.7 Coefficient of friction ........................................................................................ 81 5.1.8 Abrasion Resistance ........................................................................................... 85 5.1.9 Resistance to Staining & Cigarette Burns .......................................................... 90 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................... 92 6.1 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 93 6.2 Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 95 References: ............................................................................................................................... 96 iii | P a g e The American University in Cairo Department of Construction Engineering LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 - Location of some 15 sites with Casuarina trees grown on treated sewage. .............. 4 Figure 2 - The two most common species of Casuarina found in Upper Egypt, C. Cuminghamiana Miq. (right hand side) and C. glauca Sieber et Spreng. (Left hand side). ...... 6 Figure 3 Tongue and groove wood assembly .......................................................................... 16 Figure 4 - Table of contents for the Lamparquet standard EN 13227 showing the various items covered by the standard. Item 5.6.1 discusses the technical characteristics when in service. 19 Figure 5 - Difference between plainsawn, quarter sawn & riftsawn timber ............................ 20 Figure 6 - Lamparquet sample size .......................................................................................... 21 Figure 7 - EN13227 dimensional requirements for lamparquet products ................................ 21 Figure 8 a) 810 Material Test System machine used for loading and measuring indentation. b) Steel disk loading tool fabricated as per ASTM D2394-17 ..................................................... 26 Figure 9 - Sample size of the Concentrated loading test ......................................................... 27 Figure 10 - Concentrated loading test assembly, a) test at point 1 top left corner and b) test at point 2 center of the specimen ................................................................................................. 27 Figure 11 - Falling ball test setup providing means for height adjustment and avoiding horizontal motion ..................................................................................................................... 28 Figure 12 - Sample size of the falling ball test with the heights of drop marked at each position .................................................................................................................................................. 29 Figure 13 - a) 810 Material Test System machine used for driving half the steel ball into the samples. b) Steel ball fabricated as per ASTM D1037.26330 and steel pin fabricated with a groove equal to half the diameter of the steel ball ................................................................... 30 Figure 14 - Sample size and steel ball used in the Janka hardness test ................................... 30 Figure 15 – Janka hardness test assembly, a) test at points 1/2 penetration at radial/tangential sides of sample and b) test at point 3 penetration at end of sample. ........................................ 31 Figure 16 - Indentation Measuring Device .............................................................................. 32 Figure 17 - Sample size of the rolling load test ....................................................................... 33 iv | P a g e The American University in Cairo Department of Construction Engineering Figure 18 - Rolling Load test assembly as per ASTM D2394-17 ........................................... 33 Figure 19 - Digital dial gauge fitted with indentation measuring device to measure relative indentation on wooden sample ................................................................................................