Moderator: Craig M. Clemons, Materials Research Engineer, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

WPCs: Putting Innovation on a Faster Track

Louis M. Rossi and James Morton, Senior Partners, Principia Partners, Exton, Pennsylvania, USA

N-FibreBase, Information Portal for Natural Fiber-Reinforced Polymers and Bio-polymers

E. Baur, Managing Director, and Frank Otremba, Project Manager, M-Base Engineering + Software GmbH, Aachen, Germany; and Michael Schmitz, Graduate Student, University of Aachen, Aachen, Germany

Influence of Class Action Lawsuits on Service Life Prediction Programs

F. Louis Floyd, Consultant, Independence, Ohio, USA

SESSION 1A: MATERIALS AND PROCESSING

Moderator: Jerrold E. Winandy, Project Leader, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Effects of Woodfiber Grade on Fine-Celled Foaming of Plastic/Woodfiber Composites

G. Guo, Senior Ph.D. Student, Microcellular Plastics Manufacturing Laboratory, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; G.M. Rizvi, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering & Applied Sciences, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada; and Y.H. Lee, Ph.D. Student, Y.S. Kim, former Post-Doctoral Fellow, and Chul B. Park, Professor and Director, Microcellular Plastics Manufacturing Laboratory, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Cellulose-Based Fibers and Their Polymer Composites: Characterization and Prediction of Properties

Roberts Joffe, Associate Professor, Division of Polymer Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden; J. Andersons and E. Sparninš, Scientific Staff, Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia; and L. Wallström, Assistant Professor, Division of Polymer Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden

Effect of Impact Modification on the Foamability of Woodfiber-Plastic Composites

Laurent M. Matuana, Assistant Professor, Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Influence of Woodfiber-Plastic Material Composition on Machining and Abrasion Performance

Urs Buehlmann, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Department of Wood & Paper Science, and Daniel Saloni, Research Associate, and Richard L. Lemaster, Director, Wood Machining & Tooling Program, Department of Wood & Paper Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; and Michael P. Wolcott, Professor and Research Director, Wood Materials & Engineering Laboratory, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA

WPC Made with Different Processes: A Comparative Investigation

Hans Korte, President, Innovationsberatung Holz & Fasern, Wismar, Germany; and Harald Hansmann, Professor, Institut für Polymertechnologien e.V., Wismar, Germany

SESSION 1B: NEW MATRICES

Moderator: Tim A. Osswald, Professor and Director, Polymer Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Mechanical, Thermal, and Morphological Studies of Poly(lactic acid) PLA/Talc/ Recycled Newspaper Fiber Hybrid ‘Green’ Composites

Masud S. Huda, Visiting Research Associate, Composite Materials & Structures Center, Amar K. Mohanty, Associate Professor, School of Packaging, and Lawrence T. Drzal, University Distinguished Professor and Director, Composite Materials & Structures Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Kelly Williams, Research Engineer, Plastics Research, and Deborah F. Mielewski, Technical Expert, Team Leader of Plastics Research, Materials Research & Advanced Engineering Department, Scientific Research Laboratory, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, USA; and Manju Misra, Associate Research Professor, Composite Materials & Structures Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Modeling the Mechanical Properties of Natural Fiber-Reinforced Biopolymers

Michael Schmitz, Graduate Student, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; Tim A. Osswald, Professor and Director, Polymer Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA; and Daniel F. Caulfield, Research Chemist, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Reutilization of Polyolefin Float Rope from Lobster Fisheries into WPCs

Shane R. O'Neill, Wood Plastic Composite Specialist and Project Manager, Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, Douglas J. Gardner, Professor of Wood Science, Department of Forest Management and Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, and Katherine L. Stephens, Graduate Research Assistant, Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA

Wetlay Manufacture of Cellulose Pulp Fiber-Reinforced Poly(trimethylene terephthalate)

Todd A. Bullions, Research Scientist, Center for High Performance Manufacturing, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; and Edward Schut, Director of Marketing, CreaFill Fibers Corporation, Chestertown, Maryland, USA

Use of Silane Technology in Crosslinking of Polyethylene-Wood Flour Composites

Magnus Bengtsson, Ph.D. Student, and Kristiina Oksman, Professor, Department of Engineering Design & Materials, Norwegian University of Science & Technology, Trondheim, Norway

SESSION 2A: ENGINEERING PROPERTIES

Moderator: John C. Hermanson, Research Engineer, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Stiffness Contribution of Woodfibers to Composite Materials

R. Cristian Neagu, Ph.D. Candidate, and E. Kristofer Gamstedt, Assistant Professor, KTH Solid Mechanics, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden; and F. Berthold, Senior Research Associate, and M. Lindström, Research Manager, STFI-Packforsk AB, Stockholm, Sweden

“Theory of Mixture” in Creep Prediction of Thermoplastics-Based Natural Fiber Composites

Amit K. Pramanick, Ph.D. Student, and Mohini Sain, Professor, Centre for Biocomposites & Biomaterials Processing, Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Relationship of Interfacial Shear Strength to Composite Properties

Cheng (Peter) Zhang and Jim Rogers, Graduate Students, John Simonsen, Associate Professor, and Kaichang Li, Assistant Professor, Department of Wood Science & Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

Near Infrared Spectroscopy of Wood-Filled Polyolefins

Timothy G. Rials, Professor and Director, S.S. Kelley, Adjunct Professor, and N. Labbe, Research Associate, Forest Products Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; and, Douglas J. Gardner, Professor of Wood Science, Department of Forest Management and Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA

Experimental Behavior of Hybrid Wood-Plastic Composite-FRP Structural Members for Use in Sustained Loading Applications

Matthew Dura, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Roberto A. Lopez-Anido, Associate Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Habib J. Dagher, Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Director, Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, Douglas J. Gardner, Professor of Wood Science, Department of Forest Management and Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, Shane R. O'Neill, Wood Plastic Composite Specialist and Project Manager, and Katherine L. Stephens, Graduate Research Assistant, Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA

Design of Innovative Hollow Extruded WPC Sheet Piling

Melissa Kahl, Graduate Student, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Habib J. Dagher, Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Director, Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, Roberto A. Lopez-Anido, Associate Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Douglas J. Gardner, Professor of Wood Science, Department of Forest Management and Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, and Matthew Dura, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA

SESSION 2B: ADHESION AND THE INTERFACE

Moderator: David P. Harper, Assistant Professor, Forest Products Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

Assessing Interfacial Behaviors of Natural Fiber-Plastic Composites by Fluorescent Microscopy

Warren J. Grigsby, Senior Scientist, and Armin Thumm, and Marc Gaugler, Scientists, Biomaterials Engineering Group, Forest Research, Rotorua, New Zealand; and Hannes Klepser, University of Reutlingen, Reutlingen, Germany

Chemical Imaging of Wood-Polypropylene Composites

David P. Harper, Assistant Professor, Forest Products Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; and Michael P. Wolcott, Professor and Research Director, Wood Materials & Engineering Laboratory, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA

A Method for Studying the Wood-Plastic Interaction - Part I: Mechanical Interlocking

William Gacitua E., Ph.D. Student (Assistant Professor, Universidad del Bio-Bio, Conception, Chile), and Michael P. Wolcott, Professor and Research Director, Wood Materials & Engineering Laboratory, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA

The Effect of Woodfiber Modification and Particle Size on Wood-Plastic Composite Performance

Lance W. Gallagher and Smith T. Sundar, Graduate Students, and Armando G. McDonald, Associate Professor, Wood Chemistry & Composites, Department of Forest Products, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA; and Michael P. Wolcott, Professor and Research Director, Wood Materials & Engineering Laboratory, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA

The Application of Flame Surface Pre-Treatment to Promote Structural Adhesive Bonds in Wood-Plastic Composite Laminates

Douglas J. Gardner, Professor of Wood Science, Department of Forest Management and Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, Shane R. O'Neill, Wood Plastic Composite Specialist and Project Manager, and Matthew Peterson, Graduate Research Assistant, Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA; and Jonathan Robinson, Undergraduate Student, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

DMTA Analysis of Interface Adhesion in Wood-Plastic Composites

Carlos A. Correa, Associate Professor, Postgraduate Program in Materials Engineering & Science, Universidade São Francisco, Itatiba, São Paulo, Brazil; C.A. Razzino and E. Hage, Jr., Department of Materials Engineering, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil

SESSION 3A: DURABILITY I

Moderator: John J. Balatinecz, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Improvements in Weathering Characteristics of Wood-Plastic Composites

Dilpreet S. Bajwa, Director of Research & Development, and David Bruce, EPOCH Composite Products, Inc., Lamar, Missouri, USA

Chemical Changes that Occur During the Weathering of Wood-Plastic Composites

Armando G. McDonald, Associate Professor, Wood Chemistry & Composites, and James S. Fabiyi, Ph.D. Student and Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Forest Products, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA; and Michael P. Wolcott, Professor and Research Director, Wood Materials & Engineering Laboratory, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA

Analysis of Environmental Impact on Highly-Filled Wood-Plastic Composites by Laboratory Simulation and Full-Scale Testing

Georg Oberdorfer, Research Associate, and Michael Golser, Senior Scientist, Holzforschung Austria, Vienna, Austria

The Influence of Moisture on the UV Weathering Properties of HDPE/WF Composites

Nicole M. Stark, Chemical Engineer, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

SESSION 3B: ADDITIVES

Moderator: Karl R. Englund, Research Engineer, Wood Materials & Engineering Laboratory, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA

Ionomer as a Multi-Functional Ingredient for Value-Added Wood-Plastic Composites

Tieqi Li, Post-Doctoral Fellow, and Ning Yan, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Controlled Architecture Materials-Based Processing Aid for Polymer Wood Composites

James Nelson, Controlled Architecture Materials Project Leader, 3M / Dyneon, and Ryan Marx and John Longabach, Advanced Research Engineers, 3M Corporate Process Technology Center, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Recent Advances in Talc-Reinforced Wood-Plastic Composites

Richard J. Clark, Senior Market Development Manager, and O. Noel, Luzenac America, Inc., Centennial, Colorado, USA

Effect of Defined Waxes and Coupling Agents on Moisture Behavior of Injection Molded Woodfiber-Reinforced PP Composites

Andrzej K. Bledzki, Professor, Volker E. Sperber, Senior Lecturer, and Klaus Specht and Monika A. Letman, Ph.D. Students, Institut für Werkstofftechnik, Kunststoff- und Recyclingtechnik, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany; and Armanda Viksne, Leading Researcher, Department of Polymer Materials, Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia

SESSION 4A: DURABILITY II

Moderator: Rebecca E. Ibach, Research Chemist, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Sorption of Water in Hemp and Coir Fibers

Thu Nga Ho, Graduate Student, and Anh-Dung Ngo, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Université du Québec, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Water Absorption by Wood-Plastic Composites in Exterior Exposure

Marek Gnatowski, Technical Director, Polymer Engineering Co. Ltd., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Resistance of HDPE/Wood-Flour Composites to Cyclic Freezing and Thawing Exposures

Laurent M. Matuana, Assistant Professor, Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

The Effect of Manufacturing Variables on Mold Susceptibility of Wood-Plastic Composites

Peter E. Laks, Professor, J. Klay Vehring, Graduate Student, Steven A. Verhey, former Ph.D. Student, and Dana L. Richter, Research Scientist II and Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Forest Resources & Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, USA

Comparison of Agar (MEA and PDA) and Soil Block Tests for Assessing Decay of Wood-Plastic Composites

José Antonio Silva Guzmán, Associate Professor, Department of Wood, Cellulose & Paper, Universidad de Guadalajara, Zapopan, Jalisco, México; and Jeffrey J. Morrell, Professor, and Barbara L. Gartner, Associate Professor, Department of Wood Science & Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

The Advanced Protection Against Algae, Fungi, and Termites Created by the Use of Biocides in WPC, and the Difference Between Metal and Metal-Free Formulations

Marc Thometschek, Manager, Beologic nv, Sint Denijs (Zwevegem), Belgium

SESSION 4B: NANOCOMPOSITES

Moderator: Kristiina Oksman, Professor, Department of Engineering Design & Materials, Norwegian University of Science & Technology, Trondheim, Norway

Cellulose-Based Nanocomposites

Fabiola Vilaseca, Researcher, and Ton Peijs, Professor, Department of Materials, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom

Composites from Polyurethane and Cellulose Nano/Microcrystals

N.E. Bellesi, Ph.D. Student, Department of Chemical Engineering - Institute of Materials Science & Technology (INTEMA), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata, Argentina; M.L. Auad, Research Associate, Composites Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA; and N.E. Marcovich, Associate Professor, and Mirta I. Aranguren, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering - Institute of Materials Science & Technology (INTEMA), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata, Argentina

Structural Evolution of Cellulosic Nano-Fibers from Fiber Bundles

Mohini Sain, Professor, and Arpana Bhatnagar, M.Sc. Candidate, Centre for Biocomposites & Biomaterials Processing, Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Investigation of Structure and Distribution of Cellulose Nano-Whiskers in Polylactic Acid (PLA) by TEM, SEM, AFM, and X-ray Diffraction

Ingvild Kvien, Ph.D. Student, Bjoern Steinar Tanem, Post-Doctoral Fellow, and Kristiina Oksman, Professor, Department of Engineering Design & Materials, Norwegian University of Science & Technology, Trondheim, Norway

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Nanostructures and Thermo-Mechanical Properties of ‘Green’ Nanocomposites from Renewable Cellulosic Plastics

Hwanman Park, Visiting Research Associate, Composite Materials & Structures Center, Amar K. Mohanty, Associate Professor, School of Packaging, Lawrence T. Drzal, University Distinguished Professor and Director, Composite Materials & Structures Center, and Manju Misra, Associate Research Professor, Composite Materials & Structures Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA; and Ellen C. Lee, Technical Expert, Plastics Research, and Deborah F. Mielewski, Technical Expert, Team Leader of Plastics Research, Materials Research & Advanced Engineering Department, Scientific Research Laboratory, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, USA

Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Wood/Layered Silicate/Plastic Composites

Shu-Kai Yeh, Ph.D. Student, Department of Chemical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Daniel Ortiz, Undergraduate Student, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico; Adam Al-Mulla, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait; and Rakesh K. Gupta, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA

WRAP-UP / LUNCHEON SESSION

Moderator: Daniel F. Caulfield, Research Chemist, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Opportunities and Challenges for Wood-Plastic Composites in Emerging Product Areas

Michael P. Wolcott, Professor and Research Director, Wood Materials & Engineering Laboratory, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA; Paul M. Smith, Professor of Forest Products Marketing, School of Forest Resources, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; and John C. Hermanson, Research Engineer, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, USA