PlyWood hard to completely clean.

This can lead to them harbouring fungus and

bacteria and means they are unsuitable for use in the food, drink and pharmaceutical
industries. They are also prone to splinters and protruding nails, which are potential
safety hazards for employees, as well as shrinking and warping. In general, wooden
pallets dont last as long as plastic ones, meaning that businesses are constantly
needing to pay to replace them.
Plywood is an assemblage of wood veneers bonded together to produce a flat sheet.
While it can be tailored to suit an extensive range of applications, the normal product
consists of at least 3 plies, with the grain in the alternate plies running at right angles.
A Bio composites made purely from biological materials, this means that both the
substrate and the matrix are biodegradable. Such are ideal for sustainable manufacture
and can be recycled.

Plywood offers all the inherent advantages of the parent wood plus enhanced properties
in its laminated structure.
High impact resistance
Being a wood based material, wood is strong and stiff but, compared to a material like
steel, it's also light and flexible .
wood it's made up of cells, like any other plant. The cells are made of three substances
called cellulose (about 50 percent), lignin (which makes up a fifth to a quarter of
hardwoods but a quarter to a third of softwoods), and hemicellulose (the remainder).
Broadly speaking, cellulose is the fibrous bulk of a tree, while lignin is the adhesive that

holds the fibers together.

Cellulose is a very important polysaccharide because it is the most abundant organic

compound on earth.
Cellulose molecules are arranged parallel to each other, and are joined together with
hydrogen bonds. This forms long, cable-like structures, which combine with other
cellulose molecules, and is what produces such a strong support structure.
Glucose chains, like the one above, are called Cellulose molecules, and can contain
10000 glucose units.
Cellulose fibres are arranged in a very specific way and can be described as being like
a fractal. Long Cellulose chains bunch together, held by Hydrogen bonds, to
formMicrofibrils. These Microfibrils are bunched with other Microfibrils, held by more
Hydrogen bonds, to form Macrofibrils.
Macrofibrils have a very high mechanical strength, similar to that of steel. In plant cell
walls, they criss-cross over each, forming a cross-hatched structure, held by Hydrogen
bonds, which is very strong. This also allows water to move though and along the cell
wall. The strength of the cell walls prevent the cell form bursting, as it would in an
animal cell, when water passes into the cell. The pressure cause by the water makes
the cell Turgid, supporting the plant through Turgor Pressure.

Material

Type

Ultimate
tensile
strength
(MPa)

Wood

Plywood

31

Yield
strength
(MPa)

Young
s
(tensile
)
modulu
s of
elastici
ty /
Elonga
tion at
yield
(GPa)

13.8

12.4 /

Shear Modulus
(GPa)

density
(kg/m3)

0.62

615

Douglas fir

130

11.0 /

4.1

Advantages
Help conserve tropical forests They are economic alternative They come in large
sizes with uniform thickness They are stable
Very strong Stable does not warp or shrink Does not split easily when nailed
Smooth uniform finish
Disadvantages Unattractive edge must be covered with a veneer, moulding or a slip of
wood
hard to completely clean. This can lead to them harbouring fungus and bacteria and
means they are unsuitable for use in the food, drink and pharmaceutical industries. They
are also prone to splinters and protruding nails, which are potential safety hazards for
employees, as well as shrinking and warping. In general, wooden pallets dont last as
long as plastic ones, meaning that businesses are constantly needing to pay to replace
them.

443

Molecular structure
Plants may look very different on the outside, but if you take a closer look on the inside,
all plants have some things in common. Plants are all made ofpolysaccharides, very
large sugar molecules made of hundreds or thousands of single sugar units. Four
common polysaccharides found in nature are starch,glycogen, chitin, and cellulose.
Cellulose
Cellulose is a very important polysaccharide because it is the most abundant organic
compound on earth. Cellulose is a major component of tough cell walls that surround
plant cells, and is what makes plant stems, leaves, and branches so strong.
Cellulose molecules are arranged parallel to each other, and are joined together with
hydrogen bonds. This forms long, cable-like structures, which combine with other
cellulose molecules, and is what produces such a strong support structure.
Structural
Glucose chains, like the one above, are called Cellulose molecules, and can contain
10000 glucose units. They are stronger than Amylose and are only found in plants.
Cellulose is the most abundant polysaccharide found in nature.
Cellulose fibres are arranged in a very specific way and can be described as being like
a fractal. Long Cellulose chains bunch together, held by Hydrogen bonds, to
formMicrofibrils. These Microfibrils are bunched with other Microfibrils, held by more
Hydrogen bonds, to formMacrofibrils.
Macrofibrils have a very high mechanical strength, similar to that of steel. In plant cell
walls, they criss-cross over each, forming a cross-hatched structure, held by Hydrogen
bonds, which Structural
Glucose chains, like the one above, are called Cellulose molecules, and can contain
10000 glucose units. They are stronger than Amylose and are only found in plants.
Cellulose is the most abundant polysaccharide found in nature.
Cellulose fibres are arranged in a very specific way and can be described as being like
a fractal. Long Cellulose chains bunch together, held by Hydrogen bonds, to

formMicrofibrils. These Microfibrils are bunched with other Microfibrils, held by more
Hydrogen bonds, to form Macrofibrils.
Macrofibrils have a very high mechanical strength, similar to that of steel. In plant cell
walls, they criss-cross over each, forming a cross-hatched structure, held by Hydrogen
bonds, which is very strong. This also allows water to move though and along the cell
wall. The strength of the cell walls prevent the cell form bursting, as it would in an
animal cell, when water passes into the cell. The pressure cause by the water makes
the cell Turgid, supporting the plant through Turgor Pressure.
Microfibrils can have special roles. For example, in Guard Cell Walls, the arrangement
of microfibrils allows theStomata to open and close. Cell walls can also be reinforced
with other substances, or made waterproof.

Biocomposites
Biocomposites are made purely from biological materials, this means that both the
substrate and the matrix are biodegradable. Such are ideal for sustainable manufacture
and can be recycled. However, research into their use in general s in its infancy. It is
possible that these may be used in ever increasing quantities and may well be used in
mainstream prosthetic and orthotic manufacturing applications. Suitable biodegradable
matrices for composites include polylactic acid (PLA) polyhydroxylalkanoate (PHA).
Biocomposites may also come in prepreg form.
Substrates for biocomposites may come in various forms and these include: wood,
wool, bamboo, jute, hemp, flax. Indeed in some developing world applications some of
these materials may be useful in their own right.
Biocomposites
Made purely from biological materials,

This means that both the substrate and the matrix are biodegradable.
Such are ideal for sustainable manufacture and can be recycled.
Research into their use is in its infancy.
In the future these may be used in increasing quantities and may well be used
in mainstream prosthetic & orthotic manufacturing applications.