Parviz Navi

Effects of thermo-hydro-mechanical treatment on the structure and properties of wood.

Summary A process has been developed for densifying wood by thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) means. The resulting product is then called THM densified wood. Small specimens of different wood species, with or without knots, were densified in their radial, tangential and transversal directions. Tests on THM densified wood show significant improvement in mechanical properties. THM densified wood is less hygroscopic and more stable, with almost no shape memory. We have shown that the shear strength of wood in its grain direction increases more than tenfold by THM treatment. This article gives testing results and micrographs of THM densified wood, and discusses the physical nature of different mechanisms intervening at the wood cell wall level during the thermo-hydro-mechanical process.

Micromechanics of creep and relaxation of wood. A review COST Action E35 2004-2008: Wood machining - micromechanics and fracture

Abstract Wood, like all polymeric materials, shows viscoelastic behaviour. The time dependent behaviour of wood depends on material anisotropy, temperature, moisture and stresses. To predict the behaviour of wood, numerous mathematical models have been developed largely relying on experimental results. In this paper, time dependent viscoelastic behaviour of wood is reviewed under constant and cyclic climatic conditions, separately. More emphasis is given on results obtained in recent years on the behaviour of thin wood tissues, single fibres, thermo-viscoelasticity of wood, influence of hemicelluloses and the modelling of the effect of transient moisture at the molecular level on the mechanical response.

Natural and artificial ageing of spruce wood as observed by FTIR-ATR and UVRR spectroscopy

Abstract Spruce samples, naturally aged for 200, 400 and 500 years, artificially aged by a hydrothermal treatment (at 180, 160 or 130°C, relative air humidities of 14%, 40%, or 60% and for treatment times between 1 to 50 h), as well as reference samples, were analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR) and ultraviolet resonance Raman (UVRR) spectroscopy. Natural ageing mostly affected the hemicelluloses and lignin, as observed from the FTIR-ATR and UVRR spectra, respectively. The UVRR spectra of the same samples after acetone extraction indicated that lignin was partially degraded and quinone structures were possibly formed. Artificial ageing at 160°C showed a significant change in the lignin structure, a well-known effect in the thermal treatment of wood, whereas treatment at 130°C did not alter the wood structure to any significant extent. Principal component analysis of the UVRR spectra confirmed that the spectra of artificially aged wood up to 160°C are dissimilar to naturally aged wood and which are also dissimilar to unaged wood.

Fracture behaviour of wood and its composites. A review.

Abstract Fracturing of wood and its composites is a process influenced by many parameters, on the one hand coming from the structure and properties of wood itself, and on the other from influences from outside, such as loading mode, velocity of deformation, moisture, temperature, etc. Both types of parameters may be investigated experimentally at different levels of magnification, which allows a better understanding of the mechanisms of fracturing. Fracture mechanical methods serve to quantify the fracture process of wood and wood composites with different deformation and fracturing features. Since wood machining is mainly dominated by the fracture properties of wood, knowledge of the different relevant mechanisms is essential. Parameters that influence the fracture process, such as wood density, orientation, loading mode, strain rate and moisture are discussed in the light of results obtained during recent years. Based on this, refined modelling of the different processes becomes possible.

Property changes in thermo-hydro-mechanical processing COST Action FP0904 2010-2014: Thermo-hydro-mechanical wood behavior and processing

Abstract Thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) treatment is a combined action of temperature, moisture, and mechanical force, which leads to modified wood (THMW). Various types of eco-friendly THM processes have been developed to enhance wood properties and generate new materials, such as welding, densification, molding, bending, profiling, artificial aging, panel manufacture, and surface densification. The various transformation processes in the course of THM bring about positive effects in terms of the mechanical and physical properties as well as the biological durability. To the negative effects belong the loss in strength and fracture toughness, and one of the challenges is to minimize these negative aspects. The present paper reviews the chemical transformations processes during THM treatment in a closed processing system and presents the relationship between processing parameters and THMW properties. The discussion includes the problems associated with eliminating the set recovery of densified wood by THM posttreatments and the chemical origin of the relaxation of internal stresses induced by densification.

Evaluation of the thermal stability and set recovery of thermo-hydro-mechanically treated lime ( Tilia cordata ) wood

The effect of the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) densification in a closed system on the set recovery and thermal stability of lime (Tilia cordata) wood was evaluated. The THM densification process consists of four steps: plastification, densification, post-treatment and cooling. The THM-densified wood samples were subjected to three different post-treatment temperatures, and for each one, three different periods were used. Comparison between THM-densified wood sample without and with post-treatment at different temperatures and times was made. The set recovery tests showed that the post-treatment at higher temperatures and times improves the dimensional stability of the samples suggesting a permanent fixation of the transversal compression, but also reduces their thermal stability, by having lower temperatures corresponding to the maximum decomposition rate, lower values for the mass loss at the end of decomposition stage and lower values for the kinetic parameters. The samples with post-treatments at lower temperatures showed high set recovery values and exhibited higher values for the temperatures corresponding to the maximum decomposition rate, lower values for the mass loss at the end of the stage and higher activation energies and reaction orders.

Viscoelastic behaviour of aged and non-aged spruce wood in the radial direction

Abstract The mechanical behaviour of non-aged (modern) and aged spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] wood was investigated in the radial direction using a microtensile testing device. The size of the samples was 50 × 3 × 3 mm (radial × tangential × longitudinal). Elastic, creep, relaxation, rupture and mechanosorption tests were carried out under controlled temperature and relative humidity. Optical and electronic micrographs were produced in order to correlate the mechanical behaviour with the wood structure. Results indicate that the overall mechanical properties such as Youngs modulus and the time-dependent behaviour of wood in the radial direction do not change significantly with age. However, the strength of aged wood shows a decrease of about 25% in the radial direction. This loss of strength in aged wood might be explained by localized damage at the microstructural level in the wood.

Influence of the moisture content on the fracture characteristics of welded wood joint. Part 1: Mode I fracture

Abstract Friction welding is a joining technique for wood materials. The positive aspects of this technique are the speed of processing and the absence of chemical or mechanical agents, but the welded joints are not water resistant. To understand better the effect of moisture on the fracture behavior of welded joints, their fracture characteristics have been investigated. The double cantilever beam specimens were tested, which permit to compute the mode I energy release rate of a welded joint. The results confirm the negative effect of moisture on the fracture properties of the joint. The data concerning the maximal tensile strength of the joining material were collected by uniaxial tests and implemented in a finite element model to establish a cohesive law, which describes the behavior of welded pieces in terms of moisture content.

Experimental study of the mechanosorptive behaviour of softwood in relaxation

In softwood material, the coupling between mechanical loading and hydric state is known as the mechanosorptive effect. However, the coupling with viscoelastic effect remains unclear so far, especially when the loading is controlled by strain. In this context, the present paper is focused on the process of creation and recovery of ‘hygrolock’ behaviour, i.e. a stress locking effect which occurs in a phase of drying under load. For this purpose, several relaxation tests were first performed on small-scale silver fir specimens in order to express the relaxation function in terms of the ambient humidity. Then, two mechanosorptive tests were carried out in order to induce hygrolock stresses in the same sample loaded in sustained strain condition, and subjected to cyclically varying humidity. Based on the assumption of stress partition, the analysis of the test results clearly shows the existence of a hygrolock stress. From these experimental evidences, a law is finally proposed to describe the evolution of the hygrolock stress in terms of the hydric state of the softwood material.

Aging law of spruce wood

Abstract Accelerated aging of spruce wood samples have been carried out by thermo-hydro (TH) treatments. These treatments were applied to accelerate the chemical reactions that take place during the natural aging of wood. In order to avoid dissimilar chemical reactions between the TH treatments and the natural aging, mild temperatures (between 100 and 150°C) have been selected at low relative humidity (RH). The mechanical properties of non-aged, natural aged and accelerated aged spruce wood have been compared. It is apparent that longitudinal Youngs modulus of accelerated aged wood increase slightly at the beginning of the treatment and is followed by a reduction. Along the radial direction, Youngs modulus remains almost unchanged. On the other hand the radial strength is severely reduced. From these results, the relative radial strength has been fitted on the chemical kinetic law. The rate constant of this law has been calculated and the treatment temperature and wood moisture content have been integrated. Finally this law has been extrapolated to standard climatic conditions in order to predict the loss of strength of old wood by knowing its age and its mean climate history of temperature and RH (ambiance condition).