Wood-Be Weight Savior The next big light/strong material grows on trees
Stop the 40-ton presses and cool the autoclaves. There’s a new light/strong/cheap material poised to join the vehicle engineering toolbox, and it’d be recognizable to the designers of Conestoga wagons. Forget titanium, carbon fiber, and high-strength steel. The hot new substance on the automotive scene is … wood?
Yes, wood might no longer be just for dashboards and Morgan body framing. Researchers at the University of-consuming wood 10 times stronger and tougher than natural wood, aligning its strength with some steels but at one-sixth the weight and vastly lower cost. (The cost savings over carbon fiber apply, as well.)
