Quoted from the website…
Funded by a three-year, $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, the UMR researchers are developing energy-efficient and durable core-filled composite panels for housing. Their work is in response to a growing demand for quality and affordable housing.
“Fiber-reinforced composites offer inherent advantages over traditional materials with regard to high strength-to-weight ratio, design flexibility, corrosion resistance, low maintenance and extended service life,†says Dr. K. Chandrashekhara, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UMR.
The cost of composites, a key barrier for their use in the housing industry, can be lowered by using renewable natural materials, such as corn and cellulose. Researchers will manufacture the panels in the Composite Manufacturing Laboratory at UMR using pultrusion, a process where the panels are saturated with resin and continuously pulled through a heated die.
The new building panels will be easy to construct, termite proof and weather resistant. Rolla Technical Institute, Thermocore of Missouri in Jefferson City, and Midwest Padding of Norfolk, Neb., will participate on this project for field evaluation and product performance.
http://news.umr.edu/research/2005/DurablePanels0905.html
be knowing someone somewhere, it’s just a matter of time
‘Nemo me impune lacesset’
No one will provoke me with impunity
Edited 12/13/2005 12:54 pm ET by razzman
Replies
I also think it's just a matter of time till that general notion is accepted, though I'll hold out for the curved panels. :) Once the concept is suitably demonstrated, we'll wonder why anyone would ever go back to stuff that rots, shrinks, bows, checks, leaks, rots under UV, etc., except for reasons of nostalgia.
They make cabinets from compressed wheat chaff now. A little pricey, but actually look pretty nice. People used to wonder about plywood and particle board awhile ago, too . . .