CORK (materials)

SUBMITTED BY

G.NAGA BABITHA RANI

16011NA011
 CORK-MATERIAL
 Cork is an impermeable buoyant material, the
phellem layer of bark tissue that is harvested for
commercial use primarily from Quercus suber (the
Cork Oak), which is endemic to
southwest Europe and northwest Africa.
SOURCES
 Annual production is about 200,000 tons;
 49.6% from Portugal,
 30.5% Spain,
 5.8% Morocco,
 4.9% Algeria,
 3.5% Tunisia,
 3.1%Italy, and
 2.6% France.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
 Harvesting
 Sorting/seasoning
 Cutting/grinding
 Gluing/shaping/slicing
 Polishing/waxing
 Finishing/inspection
 packing
 HARVESTING
 Cork is extracted only from early May to
late August, when the cork can be separated
from the tree without causing permanent
damage.
 When the tree reaches 25–30 years of age
and about 24 in (60 cm) in circumference,
the cork can be removed for the first time.
SHAPES
 Plank
 Tile
COMPOSITION
 Solid (glued) cork flooring
 Engineered (floating) cork flooring
 Mosaic cork tiles
TEXTURES
 Small granules
 Medium granules
 Large granules
 Peeled cork
 Burled cork flooring
COLOR
 Natural Cork
 Stained Cork
 Painted Cork
 PROPERTIES AND USES
 Cork's elasticity combined with its near-impermeability makes it suitable as a material
for bottle stoppers, especially for wine bottles.
 Cork stoppers represent about 60% of all cork based production.
 Cork is an excellent gasket material.
 Some carburettor float bowl gaskets are made of cork, for example.
 Cork is also an essential element in the production of badminton shuttlecocks.
 Cork's bubble-form structure and natural fire retardant make it suitable for acoustic
and thermal insulation in house walls, floors, ceilings and facades.
USE IN WINE BOTTLING
 As late as the mid-17th century, French vintners did not use cork stoppers, using instead
oil-soaked rags stuffed into the necks of bottles.
 Wine corks can be made of either a single piece of cork, or composed of particles, as in
champagne corks; corks made of granular particles are called "agglomerated corks".
Natural cork closures are used for about 80% of the 20 billion bottles of wine produced
each year.