Strength

Eucalyptus is significantly stronger than oaks and mixed hardwoods in measurements of bending strength, shear, hardness and related measurements.

Why does strength matter? In general, stronger materials yield stronger results. Stronger materials are especially important in engineered lifts (e.g., wind turbine crane lifts) or in repeated stress on the mat. Strength also matters in predicting mat longevity. Stronger materials generally mean longer lifespan, which is particularly important for lease fleets and for lowering your Total Cost of Ownership.  

Sources: Mobile Crane Support Handbook, 2nd edition. David Duerr. https://eucmat.is/Facts

For more details see: https://eucmat.is/stronger

Field Applications:

1. Consider specifying mat strength rather than dimension. For example, a 6.75” thick Eucalyptus mat has about the same bending strength as an 8” mixed hardwood mat.
2. If you are engineering lifts or are working on particularly poor soils you may find that a single Eucalyptus mat is equivalent to two mixed hardwood mats.
3. For transmission work you may find a 4″ or 5″ mat provides sufficient strength given typical loads. Check out this article on testing 6″ mats for strength against concrete trucks.
4. For solar work you may find that a 4” thick Eucalyptus mat (roughly equivalent to a ~5″ mixed hardwood mat) has sufficient strength to support typical machinery weights.
5. If you use laminated mats – three-ply bolted or glue-line mats: A ~4″ Eucalyptus mat is roughly equivalent to a five-ply 6 7/8th inch lam. Best explained visually. Book a short call for the details.