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Abrasion resistance is an important property for the functional performance and serviceability of timber floors. Although hardness is the conventional criterion used in selecting species for flooring applications, it shows greater variations and restricts the use of low-density species, whereas abrasion resistance could generate a more reliable indication of a product's surface performance. Eucalyptus nitens is a fast-grown global plantation species extensively available in Tasmania, Australia. Until recently, this material has been perceived as unsuitable for appearance applications such as flooring. This study assesses several engineered flooring prototypes comprised of E. nitens—sawlog managed and fibre-managed resources—compared to an existing market product (E. obliqua and a commercial engineered timber flooring product with UV-cured coating). Tests were performed in accordance with the EN 14354:2016, sandpaper method using Taber abraser and further modified to test flooring prototypes. The highest abrasion resistance was observed in the E. nitens veneer composite product. Fibre-managed E. nitens resulted in the greatest level of abrasion, while sawlog-managed E. nitens was comparable to native regrowth E. obliqua, a commonly used flooring species historically used in Australia. Therefore, the findings from this research suggest there are suitable flooring applications for plantation E. nitens as engineered wood products in some domestic and residential dwellings when compared to existing native products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus nitens are the most dominant hardwood plantation species in Australia. Although containing a considerable amount of growth irregularities, there is an increasing interest by the industry in developing structural products, especially cross-laminated timber (CLT), from these plantation resources. In this study, for the first time, the rolling shear (RS) properties of CLT made of these two species were evaluated. Two groups of higher-grade and lower-grade CLT panels were fabricated from each species using polyurethane adhesive. The effects of the sawn-timber' density in the cross-layer and the MOE of sawn timber in the top and bottom layers on the RS properties and failure modes of the CLT were then evaluated under three-point bending test. The results showed a positive correlation between the average MOE of the sawn timber in top and bottom layers and both GAeff (LB) and τ value of the specimens from both species. The high-grade specimens from both species showed the highest shear stiffness and shear strength values compared to lower-grade ones. Furthermore, the RS values obtained were higher than those recommended in European standards for softwood CLT. These results provide useful information towards successful development of high-value CLT from the low-grade plantation eucalypts timber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]