Barbara Stolte Bezerra

Prospects for the use of municipal tree pruning wastes in particleboard production.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical and mechanical properties of particleboard made   with pruning wastes from Ipê (Tabebuia serratifolia) and Chapéu-de-Sol (Terminalia catappa) trees. Particleboards were prepared with both wood species, using all the material produced by grinding the pruning wastes. The particleboards had dimensions of 45×45 cm, a thickness of approximately 11.5 mm and an average density of 664 kg/m3. A urea–formaldehyde adhesive was used in the proportion of 12% of the dry particle mass. The particleboards were pressed at a temperature of 130°C for 10 mins. The physical and mechanical properties analyzed were density, moisture content, thickness swelling, percentage of lignin and cellulose, modulus of resilience, modulus of elasticity and tensile strength parallel to the grain, accordingly to the standards NBR 14810 and CS 236-66 (1968). The particleboards were considered to be of medium density. The particle size significantly affected the static bending strength and tensile strength parallel to the grain. Ipê presented better results, demonstrating a potential for the production and use of particleboard made from this species.

Road safety: implications for sustainable development in Latin America

Road accidents cause more deaths than homicides in Latin America, nevertheless it is not highlighted as a major concern by media and society. World Health Organization put this issue in high priority by releasing the Decade of Action in Road Safety that establishes five pillars to guide national road safety plans and activities. This paper addresses the drawbacks in the implementation of these actions in Latin American countries and its implications to achieve a sustainable development. The main concerns are: lack of empowerment of the road safety management organisations; lower vehicular standards; corruption related to the enforcement of traffic safety laws to and to the construction of safer roads; absence of safety vehicular inspections; vehicle fleet increase, decrease of public transportation demand; and the absence of a safety culture. Without facing these problems, sustainable development in Latin America will be impaired, once road safety is a fundamental link to achieve sustainability.

Physical and mechanical characterization of a recycled polypropylene and wood flour without additives

Univ Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho UN, FEB, Programa Posgrad Engn Prod, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Physical and mechanical properties of particleboard bamboo waste bonded with urea formaldehyde and castor oil based adhesive

This study evaluated the physical and mechanical characteristics of particleboards made of bamboo waste from the species Dendrocalamus giganteus bonded with two different types of adhesives: urea-formaldehyde (UF) and a castor oil based adhesive (M). Thus, eight types of particleboards were produced in the proportions of 6%, 8%, 10% and 12% for each adhesive. The results showed that particleboards produced with UF and M adhesives had acceptable behavior for physical tests according to the Brazilian standard NBR 14810. The results attained in mechanical tests (MOR and MOE), for all particleboards, were below the requirements for structural usage. This indicates that the residue of bamboo is a feasible raw material alternative for particleboards produced for non structural purposes, such as liners, partitions and other uses for internal seal. Regarding the adhesives, the particleboards produced with UF particleboards showed superior results for both physical and mechanical characteristics, when compared to M particleboards with the same percentage of adhesive.

Safety performance models for urban intersections in Brazil

This paper presents a modeling effort for developing safety performance models (SPM) for urban intersections for three major Brazilian cities. The proposed methodology for calibrating SPM has been divided into the following steps: defining the safety study objective, choosing predictive variables and sample size, data acquisition, defining model expression and model parameters and model evaluation. Among the predictive variables explored in the calibration phase were exposure variables (AADT), number of lanes, number of approaches and central median status. SPMs were obtained for three cities: Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte and Brasília. The SPM developed for signalized intersections in Fortaleza and Belo Horizonte had the same structure and the most significant independent variables, which were AADT entering the intersection and number of lanes, and in addition, the coefficient of the best models were in the same range of values. For Brasília, because of the sample size, the signalized and unsignalized intersections were grouped, and the AADT was split in minor and major approaches, which were the most significant variables. This paper also evaluated SPM transferability to other jurisdiction. The SPM for signalized intersections from Fortaleza and Belo Horizonte have been recalibrated (in terms of the Cx) to the city of Porto Alegre. The models were adjusted following the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) calibration procedure and yielded Cx of 0.65 and 2.06 for Fortaleza and Belo Horizonte SPM respectively. This paper showed the experience and future challenges toward the initiatives on development of SPMs in Brazil, that can serve as a guide for other countries that are in the same stage in this subject.

Safety and sustainability paradoxes: the case of large trees on roadsides of high speed roads

The risk and severity of injuries can be increased by trees on roadsides of high speeds roads, which may lead to a vehicle colliding into this vegetation and hindering the life of the vehicles occupants. By using qualitative methods, a structured literature review and technical visits, it was observed that the laws in Brazil are bureaucratic and time-consuming to solve problems that involve clearing trees, especially the native ones. Therefore on high-speed roads it is essential to maintain a clear safety zone on roadsides for the safety of drivers. This is an important issue especially in developing countries, where the used of barriers at roadsides are not proper used or maintenance due to budget restrictions. That brings the paradox of sustainability since the environmental legislation is a risk factor for road safety regarding the removal of trees that can cause not only a road accident, but also an environmental impact related to a possible road accident. In other words, the impediments of removal of...

Multi-Criteria Spatial Analysis of Hazardous Materials Transportation

The development of the world economy increases trade inducing a large amount of goods transportation. In many developing countries, such as Brazil, the transportation system is predominated by the highway mode. Municipal highways, most of time, are part of the main road cargo transportation system and this makes the traffic of hazardous materials a risk to society and the environment. The goal of the paper is the use a multi-criteria analysis methodology, for modeling of environmental risk of Road Transport of Hazardous Materials (RTHM) in Sao Paulo State - Brazil. Therefore a methodological discussion is presented to explore the issues inherent to the composition of the panel of experts to assign weights to each criterion and to quantify the relative importance of each for risk analysis of environmental damage.