A critical discussion of the physics of wood–water interactions

This paper reviews recent findings on wood–water interaction and puts them into context of established knowledge in the field. Several new findings challenge prevalent theories and are critically discussed in an attempt to advance current knowledge and highlight gaps. The focus of this review is put on water in the broadest concept of wood products, that is, the living tree is not considered. Moreover, the review covers the basic wood–water relation, states and transitions. Secondary effects such as the ability of water to alter physical properties of wood are only discussed in cases where there is an influence on state and/or transition.     

Effect of annual rings on transmission of 100 GHz millimeter waves through wood

For the application of millimeter wave (MMW) technique to nondestructive evaluation of wood, the effect of annual rings on the behavior of a 100 GHz MMW transmitted through wood was examined. The complex amplitude was measured for 2 mm thick flat- (LT) and quarter-sawn (LR) specimens of several species with different annual ring structures at 11 % moisture content, of which the density distribution was measured using X-ray radiography. For the LT specimens of all species and the LR specimens with small density fluctuation or with earlywood width smaller than the wavelength of the MMW (=3 mm), the amplitude and phase of the transmitted wave were similar to those of the wave without a specimen. For the LR specimen with large density fluctuation and with earlywood width close to or larger than the wavelength, the amplitude and phase were different from those of the wave without a specimen. All the measured complex amplitudes were well expressed using a diffraction model. It was concluded that the MMW is deformed by the density distribution, and then its components with periods shorter than the wavelength by diffraction are attenuated.     

Longitudinal shrinkage of wood — Part II: The relation between Longitudinal shrinkage and structure

Summary Models put forward by Preston and Kelsey to represent the longitudinal shrinkage of wood have been extended to take into account shearing stresses between microfibrils and between fibres. Mathematical relationships have been developed and previous models shown to be approximations to that developed here.The suitability of the model from various points of view and the variations in the model parameters with changing moisture content are discussed.The effect of the cross-cutting of the fibres occurring in thin microtomed sections, the effect of delignification and the incidence of an anomalous hysteresis are also discussed.Curves are given for the parameters of the models developed and these are discussed in the light of the results reported in Part I of this paper.It is concluded that the non-linearity observed in the longitudinal shrinkage moisture content relationship is due to the development of restraint against slipping of the chain molecules along one another and that this restraint is caused by increasing inter-chain molecular bonding with decreasing moisture content. It is also suggested that the irreversible interfibrillar shearing strain is a cause of the hysteresis.

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Zusammenfassung Die von Preston und Kelsey entworfenen Modelle zur Darstellung der Längsschwindung von Holz wurden von den Verfassern erweitert und zwar im Hinblick auf Scherspannungen zwischen Mikrofibrillen und zwischen Fasern. Es wurden mathematische Beziehungen aufgestellt und gezeigt, daß früher entwickelte Modelle dem hier entworfenen angenähert entsprechen. sprechen.Die Eignung des Modells wird von verschiedenen Gesichtspunkten aus beleuchtet und die Anderungen der Modellparameter bei wechselndem Feuchtigkeitsgehalt werden erörtert. Der Einfluß des Querschneidens der Fasern beim Mikrotomschnitt, der Einfluß der Delignifizierung und das Auftreten einer anomalen Hysterese werden besprochen.Die Parameter der entwickelten Modelle sind als Kurven dargestellt; diese werden unter Berücksichtigung der in der ersten Mitteilung veröffentlichten Ergebnisse erörtert.Als Schlußfolgerung ergibt sich, daß die Nichtlinearität, die in der Beziehung zwischen Längsschwindung und Feuchtigkeitsgehalt beobachtet wurde auf die Entwicklung eines gewissen Widerstandes gegen das gegenseitige Gleiten der Kettenmoleküle zurückkzuführen ist, und daß dieser Widerstand durch eine Zunahme der zwischen den Ketten bestehenden Molekularverbindungen bei abnehmendem Feuchtigkeitsgehalt verursacht wird.Ebenso wird vorgeschlagen, die irreversible Scherverformung zwischen den Fibrillen als Ursache für die Hysterese anzusehen.

     

Tannery row – The story of some natural and synthetic wood adhesives

Tannin adhesives are a relatively old but limited speciality which has become again topical with the very marked environment-friendly outlook of wood science at the beginning of the new century. Although the lecture will start by intermingling the technical experience of the author in this field mainly with some humorous stories on the early and not so early beginnings of this speciality, this will only be a brief introduction to more recent scientific/technical developments on mainly synthetic thermosetting adhesives, although natural adhesives will not be forgotten. The lecture will also relate in a very brief form, and without being limiting, some of the author's developments in synthetic (and some natural) resins wood adhesives, and in other fields of wood science and wood technology which might have or have had an impact on the advancement of this field. Received 20 June 2000     

Comparison of water absorption and mechanical properties of wood–plastic composites made from polypropylene and polylactic acid

Abstract

This study focuses on the water absorption and mechanical properties of composites made from softwood sawdust and plastics, such as virgin and recycled polypropylene and polylactic acid (PLA). The composites were processed by extrusion, and their properties were investigated by a water immersion test, mechanical tests and a cyclic test for moisture resistance. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the morphology of the fracture surfaces of the composites. The composites made with recycled polypropylene had the lowest water absorption and thickness swelling of the studied composites. The PLA composites made with heat-treated sawdust showed the highest flexural strength. Of the polypropylene based composites, virgin polypropylene resulted in composites with higher flexural strength. The Charpy impact strength of the composites was found to have an inverse trend compared to flexural strength. Cyclic treatment of the studied composites resulted in 20–60% loss of flexural strength, depending on type of composite.     

Flavonoid tannins — structural wood components for drought-resistance mechanisms of plants

Summary Myrothamnus flabellifolia Welw., Eragrostis nindensis Fic. and Hiern, Xerophyta villosa, Th. Dur and Schinz, and Sporobolus stapfianus Gand, present a so-called resuscitation behaviour when subjected to drought and subsequent rehydration. Absence of cell wall cracking is one, if not the main cause of this behaviour. Polyflavonoid tannins content of Myrothamnus flabellifolia is high and increases under drought-induced stress. It does not increase in the other plants where a surge of the content of the amino acid proline occurs instead. The authors now present the hypothesis and circumstantial evidence that the helicoidal tridimensional structures of these tannins function as the springs disallowing cracking of the cell walls and rendering possible the resuscitation characteristics of Myrothamnus flabellifolia and of the other plants through two slightly different mechanisms. This explains why many trees originally of Southern Africa, a drought area, are high producers of tannins. It infers that tannins are structural wood components just as much as cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin.     

Climate change mitigation through increased wood use in the European construction sector—towards an integrated modelling framework

Using wood as a building material affects the carbon balance through several mechanisms. This paper describes a modelling approach that integrates a wood product substitution model, a global partial equilibrium model, a regional forest model and a stand-level model. Three different scenarios were compared with a business-as-usual scenario over a 23-year period (2008?C2030). Two scenarios assumed an additional one million apartment flats per year will be built of wood instead of non-wood materials by 2030. These scenarios had little effect on markets and forest management and reduced annual carbon emissions by 0.2?C0.5% of the total 1990 European GHG emissions. However, the scenarios are associated with high specific CO₂ emission reductions per unit of wood used. The third scenario, an extreme assumption that all European countries will consume 1-m³ sawn wood per capita by 2030, had large effects on carbon emission, volumes and trade flows. The price changes of this scenario, however, also affected forest management in ways that greatly deviated from the partial equilibrium model projections. Our results suggest that increased wood construction will have a minor impact on forest management and forest carbon stocks. To analyse larger perturbations on the demand side, a market equilibrium model seems crucial. However, for that analytical system to work properly, the market and forest regional models must be better synchronized than here, in particular regarding assumptions on timber supply behaviour. Also, bioenergy as a commodity in market and forest models needs to be considered to study new market developments; those modules are currently missing.     

Regulation of water flux through tropical forest canopy trees: do universal rules apply?

Tropical moist forests are notable for their richness in tree species. The presence of such a diverse tree flora presents potential problems for scaling up estimates of water use from individual trees to entire stands and for drawing generalizations about physiological regulation of water use in tropical trees. We measured sapwood area or sap flow, or both, in 27 co-occurring canopy species in a Panamanian forest to determine the extent to which relationships between tree size, sapwood area and sap flow were species-specific, or whether they were constrained by universal functional relationships between tree size, conducting xylem area, and water use. For the 24 species in which active xylem area was estimated over a range of size classes, diameter at breast height (DBH) accounted for 98% of the variation in sapwood area and 67% of the variation in sapwood depth when data for all species were combined. The DBH alone also accounted for > or = 90% of the variation in both maximum and total daily sap flux density in the outermost 2 cm of sapwood for all species taken together. Maximum sap flux density measured near the base of the tree occurred at about 1,400 h in the largest trees and 1,130 h in the smallest trees studied, and DBH accounted for 93% of the variation in the time of day at which maximum sap flow occurred. The shared relationship between tree size and time of maximum sap flow at the base of the tree suggests that a common relationship between diurnal stem water storage capacity and tree size existed. These results are consistent with a recent hypothesis that allometric scaling of plant vascular systems, and therefore water use, is universal.     

Biological performance,water absorption,and swelling of wood treated with nano-particles combined with the application of Paraloid B72~

We evaluated fungal decay and mold resistance,leaching, and water absorption of nano-compounds and Paraloid B72~(PB72) in treated wood specimens to develop new methods of consolidation by combining nanoparticles and consolidants. Scots pine wood specimens were treated with dispersions of nano-Cu O, nano-Zn O,nano-B_2O_3, nano-Ti O_2, and nano-Ce O_2. PB72 treatments of nano-particle-treated wood specimens were then carried out by either vacuum or immersion for 24 h. Previously,decayed wood specimens were also consolidated with the nano-compounds and PB72. PB72 treatments reduced element release from treated wood specimens. Nearly all nano-compounds ? PB72 treatments increased the biological performance of treated wood specimens against decay fungi tested. PB72-only treated wood specimens had the highest weight losses in decay tests. No improvements were obtained in mold resistance tests when the nanocompounds and PB72 were combined. In nano-compoundonly treatments, unleached specimens showed slightly lower water absorption values compared to untreated control specimens. Incorporation of PB72 into nano-compound-treated wood specimens resulted in considerably lower water absorption and volumetric swell. In previously decayed specimens treated with the nano-compounds and PB72 solution, water absorption after 2-h immersion declined compared to control specimens.     

Membrane stabilizing activity — a possible mechanism of action for the anti-inflammatory activity of Cedrus deodara wood oil

The volatile oil of the wood of Cedrus deodara (50 and 100 mg/kg, p.o.) produced a significant inhibition of compound 48/80 and nystatin-induced rat paw edema. It also inhibited heat- as well as hypotonic solution-induced haemolysis of erythrocytes in vitro. The anti-inflammatory activity of the oil could be due to its membrane stabilizing action.     

Does size matter?: On the importance of various dead wood fractions for fungal diversity in Danish beech forests

The importance of different fractions of coarse wood debris (cwd) for species diversity of wood-inhabiting fungi was investigated in near-natural Danish beech stands. Species number per tree increased significantly with increasing tree size, pointing out large trees to be most valuable for fungal diversity if single samples are compared. Rarefaction curves, evaluating the importance of different cwd fractions in a cumulative space, revealed a different and more complex picture. Rarefaction curves based on wood volume showed small trees and branches to host more species per volume unit than larger trees and logs, respectively, while snags were the most species-poor fraction. Surface-based curves showed species density to be rather similar among cwd types, though species density still decreased slightly with tree size. These results are interpreted to reflect a combination of two factors: firstly, small diameter cwd represent a larger surface area per volume and hence more space for fungal sporocarps, than large diameter cwd. This ‘surface area factor’ explains the high degree of similarity of the surface-based rarefaction curves. Secondly, a collection of small diameter cwd involves more separate units than an equal volume of large diameter cwd, and represents thereby more individual cases of fungal infection and, most likely, more variation in environmental conditions. The effect of this ‘number of item factor’ is reflected in the slightly increasing species density per surface area with decreasing tree size. Richness patterns of red-listed and non-red-listed species were found to be strikingly similar across cwd types, and a general preference for large logs among red-listed species was hence absent. An individual look at the most frequent encountered red-listed species revealed substrate preference patterns to occur in three of six species, of which one, the heart-rot agent Ischnoderma resinosum, preferred large logs. Based on these results, it would be obvious to conclude that local fungal species diversity is most efficiently increased in managed forests if small diameter cwd is prioritised for natural decay. However, small diameter wood appear to be unable to support heart-rot agents and other species depending on a long and diverse infection history and thus the integrity of saproxylic communities may be seriously undermined if only small diameter cwd is left for decay. Therefore, we strongly recommend that whole, naturally dead trees, representing the full range of cwd habitats, are prioritised for natural decay in managed forests whenever possible.     

Forest product trade,wood consumption,and forest conservation—the case of 61 countries

Trade barriers of forest products are often advocated in the name of protecting forest resources. Whether the promoting of trade of forest products will increase or decrease the global forest resources is still a matter of debate. We offer an assessment of how forest product trade helps shape observed forest change, by relating wood consumption change to trade of forest products based on cross-section data from 61 countries in 2010. The result shows that wood outputs have positive effects on wood consumption. Compared to domestic production, the result suggests that imports of forest products can help reduce wood consumption. This may indicate that trade liberalization can promote the allocation efficiency of timber resources across the global, which can improve the utilization efficiency and reduce the wood consumption in the world to protect the global forest resources. It is suggested that the high-efficient harvest and wood-processing technological transfer should be advocated in the international community to contribute to global forest conservation.     

SEGMOD—a techno-economic model for evaluating the impact of segregation based on internal wood properties

Key message

Segregating stands and logs based on internal wood properties is likely to lead to improvements in value for forest and mill owners, but some situations were found where no segregation was the best alternative. Where segregation was the best alternative, segregating logs at the landing, or stands based on pre-harvest inventory assessments, led to the greatest value improvements.

Context

The benefits of segregating stands, stems and logs based on wood properties are not clear due to the high variability of wood properties, poor market signals for wood with superior properties and poor understanding of the costs across the value chain.

Aims

The aim of this study was to determine if the benefits of segregating stands and logs outweighed the additional costs.

Methods

A techno-economic model (SEGMOD) was constructed that allowed comparisons of segregation at different approaches in the supply chain. The model was populated with Pinus radiata (D.Don) stand, cost and price data from companies operating in four forestry regions of New Zealand. A total of 255 segregation scenarios were modelled, which included variations in segregation approach, stand type, stand location, terrain type, market focus and market horizon.

Results

Segregating logs based on internal wood properties led to improvements in stumpage and mill door value for most of the scenario sets evaluated. The No Segregation option was found (infrequently) to be best in unpruned stands. Segregating logs based on pre-harvest inventory assessments or at the landing would appear to be the best approach.

Conclusion

The economic benefits of segregating stands and logs for forest and mill owners outweighed the additional costs in most of the scenarios evaluated.

     

Modification of wood with silicon compounds. Treatment systems based on organic silicon compounds — a review

A wide variety of organo-silicon compounds has been described for application on wood. Some compounds such as organo-functional silanes which are mostly applied in combination with tetraalkoxysilanes (sol-gel process) as well as chlorosilanes and trimethylsilyl derivatives were proposed for a full impregnation treatment of wood. Other systems have been developed for surface treatment of wood such as plasma coating with hexametyldisiloxane and micro-emulsions which mainly contain silane/siloxane mixtures. The effects related to the various treatments vary from an increase in dimensional stability, durability and fire resistance to an enhanced hydrophobation of wood. In the cases of decay and fire resistance a combination of silicon based systems with other chemicals was required to obtain satisfactory results. Due to the excellent water repellent ability and weathering stability of some treatments, application of silicon treated wood under conditions of hazard class III (EN 335 outside above ground exposure) is recommended.Abbreviations ASE anti-shrink efficiency - ATR-FT-IR attenuated total reflectance — Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy - CP MAS-NMR cross polarisation magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy - DTA differential thermal analysis - DTMOS decyltrimethoxysilane - EDX energy dispersive x-ray analysis - EETMOS -(3,4 epoxycyclohexyl) ethyl trimethoxysilane - EMC equilibrium moisture content - ESCA electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis - HFOETMOS 2-heptadecafluorooctylethyltrimethoxysilane - HMDSO hexamethyldisiloxane - IPTEOS 3-isocyanatepropyl triethoxysilane - MPTMOS -methacryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane - MTMOS methyltrimethoxysilane - PDMS polydimethylsiloxane - PTMOS propyltrimethoxysilane - TEOS tetraethoxysilane / triethyl orthosilicate - TFPTMOS 3,3,3-trifluoropropyltrimethoxysilane - TGA thermo-gravimetric analysis - TMSAH 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl (carboxymethyl) decylmethyl ammonium hydroxide inner salt - TMSCl trimethylsilyl chloride - TPT tetraisopropyl titanate - VTMOS vinyl trimethoxysilane - WPG weight percent gain - WRE water repellent efficiency     

What is hot in tree rings? The wood density of surviving Douglas-firs to the 2003 drought and heat wave

In a global warming scenario, drought and heat waves like the one that occurred in 2003 in Europe are expected to become more intense and frequent. This extreme climate event strongly affected the hydraulic balance in many forest tree species including Douglas-fir, with symptoms ranging from partial crown necrosis to death. We studied a French Douglas-fir provenance trial, strongly affected by the 2003 drought and heat wave. Using wood X-ray microdensity profiles as a record of cambium response to environmental variations, we compared mean stem density and growth between dead and alive neighbouring trees and several microdensity characters measured over 17 growth rings previous to 2003. Special attention has been given to the sampling layout in order to minimize the micro-environmental effects. At tree level, surviving trees have a significantly higher mean stem density. At tree ring level, they have a significantly higher mean ring density, maximum ring density, latewood density and, to a lesser extent, latewood proportion. No significant difference was found for diameter growth. These results could have direct implications in the way to study and predict possible acclimation and adaptation of forest trees to climate change process. Wood could be used for the selection of genotypes with a desirable plasticity and resistance to drought induced-cavitation.