WOOD USED TO PAVE LOW-VOLUME ROADS

The Forest Service of the US Department of Agriculture is studying the application of 'chunkwood' for building low volume forest roads. Chunkwood is produced by a machine called a woodchunker, first developed at the Forest Service's Science Laboratory in Michigan. The machine was orignially designed to utilize trees which had little or no market value for building materials. It can reduce whole trees with 25-35 cm base diameters to chunks ranging in size from 6 mm to 15 cm. Chunkwood includes finger-length twigs, leaves, and needles intermixed with the pieces of wood. The mixture of varying sizes and shapes allows for a large amount of interlock between particles which provides a high frictional strength. The principal advantage of chunkwood over conventional road building materials is its weight, approximately one-sixth of the same volume of sand and gravel. This results in a reduction of road embankment induced stress on weak roadbed soils.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/25073860
• Corporate Authors:

  International Road Federation

  525 School Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20024
• Publication Date: 1988-6

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 9
• Serial:
  • World Highways/Routes du Monde
  • Volume: 29
  • Issue Number: 5
  • Publisher: Route One Publishing Limited
  • ISSN: 0964-4598
  • Serial URL: http://www.worldhighways.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Embankments; Low volume roads; Subgrade materials; Wood chips
• Old TRIS Terms: Roadbed material
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; I35: Miscellaneous Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00470790
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 31 1988 12:00AM