Natural and Woodfiber Composites in North America and Europe

James Morton, John Quarmley, and Lou Rossi, Senior Partners, Principia Partners, Exton, Pennsylvania, USA

The Increasing Use and Application of Natural Fiber Composite Materials Within the Automotive Industry (PowerPoint not available)

Brett C. Suddell, Research Officer, and W. John Evans, Professor/Director, Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Computer Aided Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, Univ. of Wales, Swansea, United Kingdom

Experiences with the Development and Commercialization of Engineered Woodfiber-Plastic Composites

Donald A. Bender, Professor/Director, and Michael P. Wolcott, Associate Professor/ Research Director, Wood Materials & Engineering Lab, Washington State Univ., Pullman, Washington, USA

Session 1A: Fiber-Matrix Adhesion And Interphase

Epolene™ Maleated Polyethylene Coupling Agents

Travis Keener, Product Development Representative, and Tom Brown, Technician Associate, Eastman Chemical Company, Longview, Texas, USA

Coupling Polystyrene and Cellulose Fibers with a Blend of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Silanes: Effects on Interfacial Properties (PowerPoint not available)

William T.Y. Tze, Ph.D. Candidate, Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center and Lab for Surface Science & Technology, Douglas J. Gardner, Professor/Program Leader, Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, Carl P. Tripp, Associate Professor, Lab for Surface Science & Technology, Shane C. O’Neill, Research Associate, Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, and Stephen M. Shaler, Professor of Wood Science/Assistant Director, Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, Univ. of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA

Synthesis of Di-block Copolymers as Wood-Plastic Compatibilizers

Kaichang Li, Assistant Professor, Cheng Zhang, Graduate Student, and John Simonsen, Associate Professor, Dept. of Wood Science & Engineering, Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, Oregon, USA

Vinyl Acetate-Acrylic Acid Copolymers as Coupling Agents for Wood Flour-Vinyl Composites

Gerard T. Caneba, Associate Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, Michigan, USA

Transcrystalline Interphases in Polypropylene Composites: Exploring the Possibilities

Morwenna J. Spear, Research Officer, and Callum A.S. Hill, Senior Lecturer, School of Agricultural & Forest Sciences, and Jeremy Tomkinson, Director, The BioComposites Centre, Univ. of Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd, United Kingdom

Session 1B: Durability

Combined UV and Water Exposure as a Preconditioning Method in Laboratory Fungal Durability Testing

Rebecca E. Ibach, Research Chemist, Craig M. Clemons, Research General Engineer, and Nicole M. Stark, Chemical Engineer, USDA Forest Products Lab, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Borates as Fungicides in Woodfiber-Plastic Composites

Mark J. Manning, Manager, Technical Development, U.S. Borax, Inc., Valencia, California, USA

Processing Effects on the Photodegradation of Wood-Polyethylene Composites

Nicole M. Stark, Chemical Engineer, USDA Forest Products Lab, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, Laurent M. Matuana, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Forestry, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, Michigan, USA, and Craig M. Clemons, Research General Engineer, USDA Forest Products Lab, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Performance of Plastic Lumber Composites Under Simulated Wildfire Exposures

Stephen L. Quarles, Wood Durability Advisor, Laurence G. Cool, Research Associate, and Frank C. Beall, Professor/Director, Forest Products Lab, Univ. of California, Richmond, California, USA

Molecular Relaxations Contributing to Phase Transitions Creep in Thermoplastic Wood Composites

Michael P. Wolcott, Associate Professor/Research Director, David Harper, Graduate Research Assistant, and Karl Englund, Research Associate, Wood Materials & Engineering Lab, Washington State Univ., Pullman, Washington, USA

Session 2A: Fiber and Microstructure

Advanced Technology for the Processing of Natural Fiber Plants for Industrial Application

Friedrich Munder, Project Manager, Christian Fürll, Head of Department, and Heiz Hempel, Engineer, Inst. of Agricultural Engineering Bornim e.V., Potsdam, Germany

Characterization of Wood Fibers for Woodfiber-Plastic Composites: Nondestructive Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Relaxometry Analysis of Secondary Metabolites in Maritime Pine Fibers

Bernard De Jéso, Professor, Organic Chemistry, and Nicole Labbé, Ph.D., Laboratoire de Chimie des Substances Végétales, Michel Pétraud, Research Engineer, Centre d’Etude Structurale et d’Analyse des Molécules Organiques, Max Ratier, Research Engineer, Laboratoire de Chimie Organique et Organométallique, and Gilles Sèbe, Associate Professor, Laboratoire de Chimie des Substances Végétales, Université Bordeaux 1, Talence, France

Influence of Fiber Treatment on the Thermal Long-Time Behavior of Wood and Hemp Fiber-Polypropylene Composites (PowerPoint not available)

Klaus Specht, Ph.D. Student, and Andrzej K. Bledzki, Professor, Institut für Werkstofftechnik, Kunststoff-und Recyclingtechnik, Universität Kassel, Kassel, Germany

Impact Toughness of Cellulose Fiber-Reinforced Polypropylene: Influence of Microstructure in Laminates and Injection Molded Composites

Craig M. Clemons, Research General Engineer, and Daniel F. Caulfield, Research Chemist, USDA Forest Products Lab, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, and A. Jeffrey Giacomin, Professor, Mechanical Engineering & Rheology Research Center, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, Wiscsonsin, USA

Micromechanical Aspects of Stiffness and Moisture Expansion in Woodfiber-Reinforced Thermosets (PowerPoint not available)

E. Kristofer Gamstedt, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Solid Mechanics, Royal Inst. of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden

Damage Assessment in Woodfiber-Plastic Composites by Means of Material Level Microstructural Characterization

Stephen M. Shaler, Professor of Wood Science/Assistant Director, Eric Landis, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, and Lech Muszynski, Assistant Scientist, Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, Univ. of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA, and Svetlana Vasic, Research Scientist, National Inst. for Structures & Materials Testing, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, Yugoslavia

Session 2B: Performance and Applications

Woodfiber-Plastic Composites for Furniture Applications (PowerPoint not available)

Takeyasu Kikuchi, Director, EIN Engineering Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Woodfiber- and Natural Fiber-Plastic Composites in China: Opportunities and Obstacles

Wayne (Weining) Song, President, Futuresoft Technologies (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Beijing, P.R. China

A Survey of Industrial Applications of Natural Fibers in South America (PowerPoint not available)

Alcides Lopes Leão and José Caraschi, Professors, UNESP, College of Agricultural Sciences, São Paulo State Univ., Botucatu, Brazil

Standards and Codes – Bringing Products to Market

Robert J. Tichy, Research Engineer, Wood Materials & Engineering Lab, Washington State Univ., Pullman, Washington, USA

Maintaining the Aesthetic Quality of Woodfiber-Plastic Composite Decking with Isothiazolone Biocide

Peter Dylingowski, Manager, Biocides Lab, Plastic Additives, Rohm & Haas Company, Spring House, Pennsylvania, USA

Influence of Natural Fibers on the Phase Transitions in High-Density Polyethylene Composites Using Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (PowerPoint not available)

Mehdi Tajvidi, Ph.D. Candidate, College of Natural Resources, Univ. of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, Robert H. Falk, Research Engineer, and John C. Hermanson, Research General Engineer, USDA Forest Products Lab, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, and Colin Felton, Technical Manager, Teel-Global Resource Technologies LLC, Baraboo, Wisconsin, USA

Session 3A: Materials and Processes

A Rheology Study of HDPE-Maple Composites

Michael P. Wolcott, Associate Professor/Research Director, and T.Q. Li, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Wood Materials & Engineering Lab, Washington State Univ., Pullman, Washington, USA

Polymer Nano-Composites Based on Cellulose (PowerPoint not available)

Lars A. Berglund, Professor, Dept. of Fiber & Polymer Technology, Royal Inst. of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden

Applications of Nano-Composites and Woodfiber Plastics for Microcellular Injection Molding (PowerPoint not available)

Lih-Sheng (Tom) Turng, Assistant Professor/Co-Director, Polymer Engineering Center, and Mingjun Yuan and Hrishikesh Kharbas, Graduate Research Assistants, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, and Daniel F. Caulfield, Research Chemist, USDA Forest Products Lab, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Microcellular Woodfiber-Polypropylene Composites in an Injection Molding Process: Effect of Fiber Type and Chemical Foaming Agents on Physico-Mechanical Properties (PowerPoint not available)

Omar Faruk, Scientific Staff, and Andrzej K. Bledzki, Professor, Institut für Werkstofftechnik, Kunststoff-und Recyclingtechnik, Universität Kassel, Kassel, Germany

Resin Transfer Molding of Polyester-Natural Fiber Composites for Performance Applications

David Rouison, Graduate Student, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Univ. of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, Mohini Sain, Associate Professor, Faculty of Forestry, Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Michel Couturier, Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Univ. of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

Bio-Composites: State-of-the-Art and Further Perspectives

Ulrich Riedel, Team Leader, Materials, and Joerg Nickel, Team Leader, Construction/Design Deputy, Inst. of Structural Mechanics, German Aerospace Center, Braunschweig, Germany

Session 3B: Automotive

Measurement and Reduction of Odors of Natural Fiber-Filled Materials Employed in the Automotive Industry (PowerPoint not available)

Andrzejk K. Bledzki, Professor, Volker E. Sperber, Senior Lecturer, and S. Wolff, Ph.D. Student, Institut für Werkstofftechnik, Kunststoff-und Recyclingtechnik, Universität Kassel, Kassel, Germany

Hybrid Cellulose Composites: Evaluation of a Cellulose/Wollastonite in Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 Composites (PowerPoint not available)

Rodney E. Jacobson, President, A-J Engineering Co., LLC, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, and Daniel F. Caulfield, Research Chemist, USDA Forest Products Lab, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Design and Engineering of Bio-Composites from Natural Fibers and Bacterial Bio-Plastic for Automotive Applications (PowerPoint not available)

Amar K. Mohanty, Visiting Associate Professor, Lawrence T. Drzal, University Distinguished Professor/Director, Manju Misra, Visiting Assistant Professor, Composite Materials & Structures Center, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Challenges in the Foam Process of Natural Fiber-Reinforced Microfoams

Wenyang Zhang, Plastic Materials Engineer, AM Plastics, Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Critical Processing Strategies for Making Fine-Celled Woodfiber-Plastic Composites for Automotive Applications

G.M. Rizvi, G. Guo, K.H. Wang, and Chul B. Park, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Advanced Polymer Processing Technologies, and Director, Microcellular Plastics Manufacturing Lab, Dept. of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada