Hardness, set-recovery and micromorphology studies of densified and thermally modified wood

• The purpose of the work reported in this paper was to increase the density of Scots pine wood in order to improve its hardness. Density was increased by compressing the porous structure of wood between heated metal plates in the radial direction by 40, 50 or 60% of the thickness. The compressed state was stabilised by thermally modifying (TM) the samples at 200 °C under steam conditions for 2, 4 or 6h. Set-recovery was almost eliminated (<1%) with TM of 6h for samples compressed 40 and 50%. It was discovered that hardness of densified wood was in some cases even three times higher compared to untreated wood. However, the hardness of the densified, non-TM wood was reduced after soaking and drying back to the original untreated level, while TM of 4 and 6h maintained an increased level of hardness.

Ämnesord

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Lantbruksvetenskap, skogsbruk och fiske -- Trävetenskap (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -- Wood Science (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

densification

hardness

SEM

set-recovery

thermal modification

UV-laser ablation

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