Physical and mechanical properties of wood after moisture conditioning

Some properties of wood (hinoki:Chamaecyparis obtusa) moisture-conditioned by an adsorption process from a dry state and by two desorption processes (from a water-saturated state and from a state with a moisture content slightly below the fiber saturation point) were investigated. The moisture contents of wood conditioned by the adsorption process and by the desorption process continued to approach to one another for the moisture-conditioning period of over 50 weeks. Accordingly, sorption hysteresis should be regarded as a transitional phenomenon that occurs during the process of approaching the true equilibrium, which requires a long time. The wood conditioned by the desorption process beginning from a water-saturated state showed slightly smaller dimensions than those conditioned by the adsorption process with the same moisture content; however, the wood conditioned by the desorption process from a moisture content below the fiber saturation point showed slightly larger dimensions than those conditioned by the adsorption process. The wood conditioned by the adsorption process from a dry state showed a higher modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture than did the wood conditioned from a water-saturated state with the same moisture content. The mechanical properties of the wood also varied based on the states at which the desorption process was started. This is a notable characteristic of the relation between the drying condition and the mechanical properties of wood.     

Investigation on enzymic hydrolysis of lignified cellulosic materials

Investigations on enzymic hydrolysis of cotton cellulose and spruce groundwood pulp with the multicomponent enzyme Onozuka SS have shown that lignin causes an almost total inhibition of the enzyme action. Breaking of lignified covers of cell walls and fibrillar bundles by grinding increases the accessibility toward the enzyme very effectively. Depolymerization of lignin is less important for improving the accessibility. The compact fibrillar structure of both cotton and wood cellulose also have an inhibitory effect on the penetration of the enzyme into the fiber. Beating loosens the compactness of the fibrillar structure and increases the accessibility. Only about 10% of the cellulose, probably highly crystalline, requires more drastic treatment e.g. ball-milling. Last units of polysaccharides linked to lignin in the lignin carbohydrate complex are resistant toward enzyme hydrolysis and require chemical cleavage. Total enzymic solubilization of lignified polysaccharides can therefore be attained only after a combined mechanical and chemical pretreatment.     

Dimensional stability of wood-plastic combinations to moisture changes

Summary Anti-shrink efficiency (ASE) measurements were made on four wood-plastic combinations (WPC). The WPC test d were made from loblolly pine and yellow-poplar impregnated with polymethylmethacrylate, P (MMA), and a poly(styrene-acrylonitrile), P (ST+ACN).The ASE values were much higher with P (ST+ACN) than with P (MMA) for both species of wood and were higher for yellow-poplar than for loblolly pine for both polymer species The high ASE for the P(ST+ACN) WPC systems is explained by the fact that this comonomer solution swells the wood during treatment and thus creates a bulking action. The maximum ASE values were obtained at intermediate polymer loadings (50% full) rather than at very high polymer loadings. The reason for this was that the samples shrank during treatment when the polymer loading was high, therefore the sample was stressed. During the swelling these stresses were relieved causing greater than normal swelling.

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Zusammenfassung Die Wirkung einer Schwindungs-Vergütung wurde an vier Holz-Kunststoff-Kombinationen gemessen. Diese Holz-Kunststoff-Kombinationen bestanden aus Lobolly pine und Gelbpappel jeweils imprägniert mit Polymethylmetracrylat P (MMA) und mit Polystryrenacrylonitril P (ST+ACN).Die Werte für die Schwindungsvergütung lagen bei beiden Holzarten für P (ST+ACN) höher als für P (MMA) und ebenso für Gelbpappel bei beiden Kunststoffen höher als für Lobolly pine. Die bessere Wirkungsweise des P (ST+ACN) wird durch die Tatsache erklärt, daß dieses Monomer das Holz während der Behandlung quellen läßt, wodurch ein raumfüllender Prozeß in Gang kommt. Die höchsten Werte der Schwindungs-Vergütung wurden bei einer mittleren Beladung mit Polymeren (rd. 50%) erzielt; sie waren besser als bei sehr hoher Polymer-Beladung. Ursache hierfür war ein Schwinden der Proben während der Behandlung mit hoher Polymer-Beladung, wodurch die Proben unter Spannung kamen. Während der Quellung wurden diese Spannungen aufgehoben und hatten dann eine übernormale Quellung zur Folge.

     

Elastic modulus of lignin as related to moisture content

The Young's and shear moduli of two lignins have been measured at several moisture contents. Cylindrical test specimens moulded from periodate and Klason lignin powders were conditioned to the required moisture contents and tested in tension and torsion. The Young's modulus of periodate lignin increased linearly from 3.1x10⁹ to 6.7x10⁹ Pa, and the shear modulus from 1.2x10⁹ to 2.1x10⁹ Pa as the moisture content of the lignin decreased from 12 to 3.6%. Klason lignin showed similar behaviour but its moduli were always much lower. This was probably a consequence of the more drastic alteration undergone by the Klason lignin during its isolation from the wood cell wall.I am indebted to Messrs M. B. Forsyth and L. P. Lowe for assistance with the design and construction of the testing equipment used in this work.     

Young's modulus of hemicellulose as related to moisture content

Summary The Young's modulus of hemicellulose extracted from Pinus radiata wood has been measured by an indentation method. Values obtained for the modulus varied by almost three orders of magnitude, from 8.0×10⁹ Pa in nearly dry hemicellulose to 1.0×10⁷ Pa in nearly saturated hemicellulose. The very low value of the modulus at high moisture contents has some interesting implications for models of the mechanical behaviour of the wood cell wall.     

Microwave pyrolysis of cellulosic materials for the production of anhydrosugars

Large-scale microwave rapid pyrolysis of cellulosic materials has been investigated. Levoglucosan (1,6-anhydro--d-glucopyranose) was obtained from a larch log as the main anhydrosugar in 2.6% yield on the basis of dry wood weight. This yield would be much higher than that obtainable by conventional pyrolysis in the largescale reaction. Levoglucosenone (1,6-anhydro-3,4-dideoxy--D-glycero-hex-3-enopyranos-2-ulose) was found to be produced in one-quarter the amount of levoglucosan. Other anhydrosugars, such as mannosan (1,6-anhydro--D-mannopyranose), galactosan (1,6-anhydro--d-galactopyranose), and xylosan (1,4-anhydro--d-xylopyranose), were also confirmed to be produced as minor components depending on the proportion of the monosaccharide content in the larch. When microwave pyrolysis of used papers and filter papers was performed, the yields of levoglucosan were about 6% and 12%, respectively, suggesting that a higher content of cellulose gives a larger amount of levoglucosan.     

The elastic modulus of lignin as related to moisture content

Summary In previous papers, a theory was developed relating Young's modulus of hydrogenbond dominated solids to the density of this bond and to its parameters, and also to the moisture content of the solid. In this paper, the theory is applied to experimental results reported by Cousins on periodate lignin. The theory fits the observations and, furthermore, predicts that this particular lignin has 6.84 potential H-bonding sites per repeating unit of an assumed molecular weight of 1,000. No data for periodate lignin exist, but a Freudenberg constitutional scheme for lignin postulates a little over 7 potential sites for H-bonding per repeating unit of 1,000 molecular weight.     

Adsorptive properties of dyes to cellulosic sheet and discoloration of dye solution by UV-ray irradiation

The adsorptive properties and selectivity of dyes and water molecules to cellulosic sheet, dependence of adsorptive properties of dyes on the concentration of dye solution, and discoloration of the dye solution due to the UV-ray irradiation were determined for 18 kinds of commercial dyes. The results are as follows： 1） the adsorptive properties of dyes to cellulose sheet differed greatly, but did not depend on the dye types such as acidic, basic and so on; 2） adsorptive properties of dyes to cellulosic sheet de- pended on the concentration of dye solution and were classified into 4 types： concentration-independent, increasing or decreasing with dye concentration, and having a maximum. This classification was irrelevant to the dye types; 3） the irradiation of UV-ray did not cause significant discoloration of dye solution itself, which suggested that wood components as well as dye molecules influence the discoloration of wood.     

Physical and mechanical properties and colour changes of fast-growing Gympie messmate wood subjected to two-step steam-heat treatments

This study aimed to evaluate physical and mechanical properties and colour changes of fast-growing Gympie messmate wood subjected to two-step steam-heat treatments. To achieve this, Gympie messmate wood was thermally treated under different conditions. Combined steam (127°C and ～0,1471 MPa) and heat treatments in an oven (180–240°C for 4 hours) were performed. Physical and mechanical properties were evaluated by weight loss, equilibrium moisture content, specific gravity, volumetric and linear swelling and static bending tests, while colour changes were studied using CIEL*a*b* technique. The main findings showed that the steam pre-treatment in autoclave influenced most of the technological properties evaluated, mainly for heat treatments performed in low temperatures (180–200°C). The most significant changes after thermal treatments were observed for dimensional stability, which increased as a function of temperature of treatment. On the other hand, mechanical strength of thermally modified wood was significantly affected, while stiffness did not change. Colour modifications due to the application of two-step steam-heat treatments confirm the possibility to using these samples for aesthetic purposes.     

Effect of moisture and mechanical loading on wooden materials

Summary In a previous paper (Mårtensson 1988 a), results of tests performed on hardboard in tension under cyclic humidity were presented and comparison with a suggested constitutive model was made. This paper presents the result of further work that has been carried out concerning modelling of the behaviour of tempered hardboard subjected to moisture loading combined with mechanical loading. Tests were made both in compression and bending. The tests in compression were of two types, conventional creep tests during moisture cycling and quasi-relaxation tests during moisture cycling. The model was quantified on the basis of the previous tension tests and the compression tests, in both cases creep tests, and was then checked independently against the other types of test.Interaction between moisture change and mechanical loading was found to be significant during the first moisture cycle but much smaller during subsequent cycles. Experimental and numerical analysis of composite structural elements was also performed, showing that internal stresses of significant magnitude are developed as a result of variations in moisture. Such stresses can be predicted with reasonable accuracy using the proposed model. This can be of great value in design and development of wood products and wooden structural elements.     

Development of high-retention water absorbent from cellulosic materials: water absorbent from bleached kraft pulp

This paper describes the synthesis of highretention water absorbents from kraft pulp and examination of their properties. A bleached kraft pulp from mixed hardwoods (LBKP) was carboxymethylated, then crosslinked with polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ethers (PEGDGE) with different degrees of polymerization under different conditions. A crosslinking agent with longer chain length might be advantageous for preparing a water absorbent with high water retention, and water retention could be improved at lower molar ratio of the crosslinking agent to the glucose unit. Isolation of carboxymethylated LBKP before crosslinking was advantageous for higher water absorbence. A water absorbent with a water retention value of as high as 500 times its weight was obtained.Part of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Fibre Science and Technology, Tokyo, June 22–24, 1998     

Bending creep behavior of wood under cyclic moisture changes

This study examined the bending creep behavior in the longitudinal direction of six species under cyclic moisture content (MC) changes. For each species, tests were made at 20°C with five cyclic relative humidity changes between 65% and 95%, beginning from moisture adsorption. A load corresponding to 25% of short-term breaking load of the species was applied to the radial section of each specimen with four-point bending. The effect of MC change on instantaneous compliance was also investigated under the same condition. The quantitative relation between mechano-sorptive (MS) compliance and MC change was examined, and the material parameter KM for the relation in specific sorption was determined. Results indicated that the total compliance in the six species with different behavior increases with sorption time. As an integral part of total compliance, instantaneous compliance changes linearly with MC and influences to a greater or lesser extent the total compliance behavior. In general, with increasing MC change, the MS compliance linearly increases during the first adsorption and all desorption and decreases slightly during subsequent adsorption. The material parameterK _M varies markedly not only with species but also with specific sorption. The first adsorption causes the largest deformation, followed by desorption.This paper was presented at the 48th annual meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society in Shizuoka, Japan. April 1998     

杨木制备纤维乙醇过程中化学成分变化的分析

杨树是我国重要的速生树种。以杨木为原料制备生物乙醇是解决当今能源问题的一项新的尝试。对杨木原料蒸汽爆破预处理后以及菌处理后的化学成分及化学性质进行了测定分析。通过对比其化学成分(纤维素、木素、半纤维素、抽出物、灰分及蛋白质)的变化,研究了以杨木为原料制备生物乙醇生产过程中化学成分变化机理,旨在为指导杨木制备木质纤维乙醇的生产,并为发酵后副产物的回收再利用提供理论依据。     

Method to estimate the internal stresses due to moisture in wood using transmission properties of microwaves

The purpose of this paper is to offer a new method for detecting stress in wood due to moisture along the lines of a theory reported previously. According to the theory, the stress in wood could be estimated from the moisture content of the wood and the power voltage of a microwave moisture meter (i.e., attenuation of the projected microwave). This seems to suggest a possibility of utilizing microwaves in the field of stress detection. To develop such an idea, the stress formulas were initially modified to the form of an uni-variable function of power voltage, and the application method of the formulas to detection was tried. Finally, these results were applied to the data of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) lumber in the previous experiment. The estimated strains showed fairly good agreement with those observed. It could be concluded from this study that the proposed method might be available for detecting stress in wood due to moisture.Part of this report was presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Gifu, April 2002     

Effects of moisture in wood materials on the SNR of GPS signals

This study was performed to investigate the factors responsible for the reduction in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a global positioning system (GPS) when used in a forest. We investigated the relationship between the SNR values of GPS signals and the moisture in wood materials and clarified this relationship through experimentation and simulation. Although the wood material itself had a minimal effect on SNR reduction, moisture in the wood had an obvious effect. It is noteworthy that wood material with a moisture resistance quantity (Mw) of 2 g/cm² caused a reduction of more than ~10 dB in the SNR. This Mw value corresponds to Japanese cedar with a green stem thickness of ~7 cm. Under unobstructed sky conditions, SNR is less than ~20 dB, so a reduction of 10 dB has a marked effect on GPS reception. The reduced SNR under canopies resulted from moisture in stems and the canopy. Furthermore, a simulation performed in a Japanese cedar forest revealed that 77.8% of the SNR reduction was caused by stems, 8.1% by branches, and 14.1% by needles.     

Prediction of particleboard mechanical properties at various moisture contents

Summary For this study, urea-bonded particleboards with three resin levels and three specific gravity values were made in the laboratory. Specimens for modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and internal bond strength tests were conditioned at 14 relative humidity values over the range 13–97 per cent. Results for the three mechanical properties were fitted to cubic equations in moisture content with a high degree of accuracy (correlation coefficients of over 0.99 in most cases).     

Numerical modelling of moisture movement and related stress field in lime wood subjected to changing climate conditions

Numerical modelling was used to follow the evolution of the moisture content gradient and the stress field resulting from the restrained differential dimensional response across a wooden cylinder, simulating sculptures, in response to variations in temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH). Material properties of lime wood (Tilia sp.) were used in the modelling as this wood species was historically widely used. The allowable RH variations, below which mechanical damage will not occur, were derived as functions of the amplitude, time period and starting RH level of the variation. Lime wood can endure step RH variations of up to 15% in the moderate RH region, but the allowable domain narrows when RH levels shift from the middle range. The allowable amplitude of the variations increases when time allowed for the change increases. The stress field does not vanish even for slow, quasi-static changes in RH due to structural internal restraint resulting from the anisotropy in the moisture-related dimensional change.