MettleWood—an ultra-densified wood—started off as a small research project at the University of Maryland. But after going viral for stopping a bullet-like projectile in its tracks, the researchers were hit with a deluge of commercial inquiries for the product, and they’re now eyeing an introduction to the wood flooring industry. The “super” wood’s hardness ranges from 35–38 on the Brinell scale; for comparison, the hardness of most wood is 5, and copper is 35.
A prototype for MettleWood (bottom), stopped a bullet-like projectile fired at close range in its tracks.
“One of the biggest advantages we see about MettleWood is its very high scratch-resistance, impact toughness and the hardness,” says Dr. Jiaqi Dai, CTO at InventWood, the company founded to commercialize the product. Wood patterns are more pronounced after being densified, Dai says, but it can still be sanded, stained and finished like regular wood flooring. Based on lab experiments, MettleWood can also be nailed down, providing holes are pre-drilled into the toughened wood. The company hasn’t found a wood species its densification process doesn’t work on. So, unlike that bullet-like projectile that brought it to prominence, MettleWood doesn’t seem to have much standing in its way.
