Characteristics of sugar maple wood surfaces machined with the fixed-oblique knife pressure-bar cutting system

Oblique cutting differs from orthogonal cutting by an inclination given to the knife edge, which induces several changes on tool geometry, cutting forces, as well as on the quality of machined surfaces. In this work, a pressure bar was used during oblique cutting to reduce the occurrence of torn grain. The effects of cutting depth, rake angle, and oblique angle on cutting forces and surface quality were studied. Surface topography, cell damage and wetting properties were used to assess surface quality. All force components were increased by increasing cutting depth and decreasing rake and oblique angles. The lateral force, however, increased as the oblique angle increased. The surface roughness increased with increasing the lateral cutting force. Higher cutting depths and oblique angles tended to provide higher surface roughness, while higher rake angles tended to reduce surface roughness. The pressure bar was not always able to completely prevent the occurrence of defects when cutting against the grain. The occurrence of machining defects increased at higher cutting depths and oblique angles. As the rake angle decreased, the type of machining defect tended to change from torn grain to slight fuzzy grain. Moreover, the best wetting properties were obtained at lower rake angles, as they induced higher surface roughness. A 25° rake angle, a 30° oblique angle, and thinner cutting depths should be preferred to reduce dependence on ulterior sanding.     

Convergence of the robust Gaussian regression filter applied to sanded wood surfaces

The quality of a sanded wood surface is represented by its roughness, which can be separated from the originally measured data by a procedure of filtering. Past experience has shown that the robust Gaussian regression filter (RGRF) is suitable for wood surfaces because it does not introduce distortions into the roughness profiles. The filter works iteratively until a user-defined convergence condition is met. The iterations stop when the difference between two consecutive profile median values becomes smaller than a given tolerance. This paper examines the convergence of RGRF when applied to wood surfaces sanded with various grit sizes in order to establish the tolerance value, which leads to convergence with the minimum number of iterations. This study was based on monitoring the variation of roughness parameters with the number of iterations for a range of tolerance values. A tolerance of 0.01 μm was found acceptable for filtering sanded wood surfaces.     

Influence of wood planing on the second-order effects of moisture sorption in sugar maple

Summary Two types of machines, a conventional planer, and a fixed-knife pressure-bar planer were used to prepare matched specimens of sugar maple wood. After adsorption and desorption, both experiments at 21 °C, the EMC, swelling in all principal directions as well as compliance coefficient in radial compression were measured. Two specimen sizes were used for these expe‐riments. For a given equilibrium moisture content, tangential and radial dimensions were greater after desorption than after adsorption, as previously described. When equilibrium was reached by gaining moisture, the wood was stiffer in radial compression compared to when the equilibrium was reached after losing moisture. The magnitude of this phenomenon, second-order effects of moisture sorption, was slightly affected by the type of planing. These effects on swelling were greater for large specimens prepared by conventional planing compared to fixed-knife pressure-bar planing. Small specimens showed similar magnitudes of this phenomenon with both planing methods. No differences between planing methods were found for the radial compliance coefficient measured on either specimen size. Therefore, the second-order effects of moisture sorption appeared to be a bulk phenomenon and not restricted to the superficial layers of wood. Received 9 December 1997     

Influence of moisture sorption history on the swelling of sugar maple wood and some tropical hardwoods

Summary Samples of nine tropical hardwoods from Peru and sugar maple wood from Quebec were selected to perform moisture sorption tests associated with swelling tests at 25 °C. The results demonstrate that, for a given equilibrium moisture content, tangential and radial dimensions, and hence the volume of wood, are greater after desorption than after adsorption. The importance of these differences, so-called second-order effects of moisture sorption, varied with the species and with the direction of swelling. These effects are proportionally greater in the tangential direction of wood than in its radial axis. Finally, two types of samples showed similar swellings for three equilibrium moisture contents.The author wishes to thank Professor M. Goulet for his support and help. This research was supported by the Canadian International Development Agency and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada     

Water vapour diffusion and adsorption characteristics of sugar maple (Acer saccharum,Marsh.) wood polymer composites

Summary Water vapour diffusion characteristics and adsorption isotherms were determined for cell-lumen and cell-wall treated wood polymer composites (WPC). The diffusion coefficients of the cell-lumen WPC were lower than untreated wood and the cell-wall WPC coefficients were lower than cell-lumen. Using the Hailwood and Horrobin sorption model, it was found that the unimolecular layer is formed at lower moisture contents in WPC than in wood. The amount of free dissolved water was reduced only in the cell-wall WPC. The polymer reduces the water vapour accessibility in both types of WPC.     

Nutrient concentrations in roots, leaves and wood of seedling and mature sugar maple and American beech at two contrasting sites

Differences in sensitivity to soil conditions across tree species and developmental stage are important to predicting forest response to environmental change. This study was conducted to compare elemental concentrations in leaves, stems, and roots of (1) sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) seedlings vs. mature trees and (2) mature sugar maple vs. mature American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) in two sites that differ in soil base saturation and pH. Both sites are located in Huntington Forest, NY, USA; one site (hereafter ‘H’) has higher soil pH and Ca, Mg, and Mn concentrations than the other site (hereafter ‘L’). Sugar maple growth at H (14.8 cm² year⁻¹ per tree) was much greater than at L (8.6 cm² year⁻¹ per tree), but the growth of beech was not different between the two sites. Leaves, roots, and stem wood of mature beech trees and sugar maple seedlings and mature trees were sampled for nutrient analysis. Foliar Ca, K, and Al concentrations were positively correlated with soil elements, but Mn concentrations were negatively correlated. Sugar maple differed more than beech between sites in foliar K and Mn concentrations. Root Mg and P concentrations reflected soil chemistry differences, in contrast to foliar concentrations of Mg and P, which were indistinguishable between the sites. In sugar maple, seedlings differed more than in mature trees in nutrient concentrations in roots, especially for Mg and Mn. Although beech was not as responsive to nutrient availability as sugar maple in foliar and root nutrient concentrations, Ca and Mg concentrations in beech wood were higher in H (52% higher for Ca and 68% higher for Mg), while sugar maple did not differ between sites. Sugar maple regeneration failure on acidic soils in the same region is consistent with our finding that sugar maple seedlings were very sensitive to nutrient availability. This sensitivity could ultimately contribute to the replacement of sugar maple by American beech in regions of low pH and base cations if base cation leaching by anthropogenic deposition and tree harvesting continues.     

Effects of chronically elevated nitrogen and sulfur deposition on sugar maple saplings: Nutrition,growth and physiology

At the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM), we examined the effects of long-term experimentally elevated N and S deposition on foliar chemistry, growth, and photosynthetic capacity of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) saplings. The BBWM is a paired watershed system; one watershed has been acidified bimonthly with granular ammonium sulfate ((NH₄)₂SO₄) since 1989. The adjacent watershed is used as a reference. We observed a 56% increase in foliar Al and a 25% reduction in foliar Ca for sugar maple saplings on the treated watershed compared to reference. Foliar N (+15%), P (+10%), and K (+15%) were significantly elevated in treated saplings. Along with changes in foliar nutrients, there were significant differences in photosynthetic capacity.     

Effects of soil freezing and drought stress on abscisic acid content of sugar maple sap and leaves

In 1991 and 1992, mature maple trees (Acer saccharum Marsh.) were freeze-stressed or drought-stressed by preventing precipitation (snow or rain) from reaching the forest floor under selected trees. Lack of snow cover caused a decrease in soil temperature to well below 0 degrees C from December to April and a lowering of the soil water content to 10%. The abscisic acid (ABA) concentration in the spring sap of deep-soil frost-stressed trees was significantly higher than in control or drought-stressed trees. The increase in ABA concentration in the xylem sap in the spring of 1991 and 1992 preceded symptoms of canopy decline and a decrease in leaf area that were observed during the summers of 1991 and 1992. These results suggest a role for ABA in root-to-shoot communication in response to environmental stress. The largest differences in ABA concentration induced by the treatments was found in sap collected at the end of sap flow. The increase in ABA concentration in spring sap at the end of the sap flow could be used as an early indicator of stress suffered by trees during the winter. Not only did the increase in ABA concentration occur before any visible symptoms of tree decline appeared, but the trees that showed the most evident decline had the highest ABA concentrations in the spring sap. Leaf ABA concentration was not a good indicator of induced stress.     

Root carbohydrate reserves, mineral nutrient concentrations and biomass in a healthy and a declining sugar maple (Acer saccharum) stand

Soil and root characteristics were contrasted between a "declining" and a "healthy" sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) stand in Vermont, USA. The declining stand had lower basal area increment and more crown dieback than the healthy stand. Soil pH and base cation content were lower and soil water content was higher at the site of the declining stand than at the site of the healthy stand, whereas soil temperature did not differ significantly between the sites. In live fine roots, concentrations of K and Ca were marginally (P < 0.07) lower in the declining than in the healthy stand, whereas concentrations of N, P, Mg, and Al were not significantly different (P = 0.13 to 0.87) between stands. Starch and soluble sugar concentrations of fine and coarse roots did not differ significantly between stands, indicating that crown dieback did not affect carbohydrate supply to the roots in the declining stand. Throughout the growing season, the standing live and dead root biomass were significantly higher in the declining stand than in the healthy stand, indicating that more carbon was allocated to roots and that root turnover was higher in the declining stand than in the healthy stand.     

培育措施对桉树木材性质的影响

桉树已成为华南地区最重要外来速生树种，合理高效的培育措施不仅需要提高单位面积木材产量，同时还要求生产出满足木材工业要求的优质原料。概述了国内外有关培育措施对桉树木材产量与材性影响的研究，为今后我国桉树木材生产部门与加工利用部门的密切合作，提供参考。     

Toward an improved model of maple sap exudation: the location and role of osmotic barriers in sugar maple, butternut and white birch

Two theories have been proposed to explain how high positive pressures are developed in sugar maple stems when temperatures fluctuate around freezing. The Milburn-O'Malley theory proposes that pressure development is purely physical and does not require living cells or sucrose. The osmotic theory invokes the involvement of living cells and sucrose to generate an osmotic pressure difference between fibers and vessels, which are assumed to be separated by an osmotic barrier. We analyzed wood of Acer saccharum Marsh., Juglans cinerea L. and Betula papyrifera Marsh. (all generate positive pressures) examining three critical components of the osmotic model: pits in cell walls, selectivity of the osmotic barrier and stability of air bubbles under positive xylem pressure. We examined the distribution and type of pits directly by light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and indirectly by perfusion of branch segments with fluorescent dyes with molecular masses similar to sucrose. The latter approach allowed us to use osmotic surrogates for sucrose that could be tracked by epifluorescence. Infusion experiments were used to assess the compartmentalization of sucrose and to determine the behavior of gas bubbles as predicted by Fick's and Henry's laws. The SEM images of sugar maple revealed a lack of pitting between fibers and vessels but connections between fiber-tracheids and vessels were present. Fluorescein-perfusion experiments demonstrated that large molecules do not diffuse into libriform fibers but are confined within the domain of vessels, parenchyma and fiber-tracheids. Results of the infusion experiments were in agreement with those of the fluorescein perfusions and further indicated the necessity of a compartmentalized osmolyte to drive stem pressure, as well as the inability of air bubbles to maintain such pressure because of instability. These results support the osmotic model and demonstrate that the secondary cell wall is an effective osmotic barrier for molecules larger than 300 g mol(-1).     

Evaluation of the photo stabilising efficiency of clear coatings comprising organic UV absorbers and mineral UV screeners on wood surfaces

A study of the surface discolouration of clear coated wood during artificial and outdoor weathering and its prevention using clear coatings comprising organic UV absorbers (UVA) and mineral UV screeners was carried out. It was shown that the use of UVA and UV screeners in clear coatings was very effective in reducing photodegradation of the wood surface. Preliminary irradiation trials with Xenon arc light showed that the UV screener TiO₂ led to the least discolouration of the coated wood surface, closely followed by UVA of the hydroxyphenyl-s-triazine class (HPT). The artificial and outdoor weathering trials indicated that UVA of the HPT class stabilised the colour of the wood surface better than UVA of the 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-benzotriazole class (BTZ). Comparison of different artificial weathering methods indicated that Xenon arc light weathering showed the best match to the proceeding discolouration of the clear coated wood panels during outdoor weathering.     

Effect of combinations of wood and counterface materials on three-body abrasive wear

The abrasion characteristics of various combinations of wood and counterface materials in three-body abrasive wear were investigated. Various wood samples were examined in combination with wood, plastic, and metal counterface materials. The wear coefficient in the wood samples was calculated as the wear volume of the friction surface divided by the sliding distance and the applied load. The results showed that the wear coefficient was smaller in cases where the wood samples had greater yield stress. The wear coefficient increased as the yield stress of the various counterface materials increased, reaching a maximum value and then decreased as the yield stress increased. This result indicated that a peak value existed for the wear coefficient in combination with the counterface material.Part of this report was presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tokyo, April 2001     

Frost tolerance and bud dormancy of container-grown yellow birch, red oak and sugar maple seedlings

Container-grown seedlings of red oak (Quercus rubra L.), sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton) in their first year of growth were overwintered outdoors. Tolerance of roots and stems to freezing was compared from late summer to the following spring. Mitotic activity in the apical bud was related more closely to air temperature than to bud dormancy as defined by days to bud break. In all species, stem hardening was observed before days to bud break reached a maximum. Dormancy release (days to bud break equal to zero) of yellow birch coincided with loss of stem hardening in the spring. Roots hardened more slowly, had a lower frost tolerance than stems in fall and winter, and dehardened earlier than stems in the spring. There were differences in stem and root hardiness among the species, with yellow birch being the most tolerant, followed by sugar maple and red oak. Primarily because of root sensitivity to frost, winter was a critical period for all three species, but particularly for red oak.     

Neutralization and buffering capacity of leaves of sugar maple, largetooth aspen, paper birch and balsam fir

We compared the acidity, the external acid neutralizing capacity and the buffering capacity of leaves of four commercially important tree species, largetooth aspen (Populus grandidentata Michx.), sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill), at two sites of contrasting soil fertility in southern Quebec. External acid neutralizing capacity (ENC) of leaves was determined by measuring the change in pH induced by soaking fresh leaves in an acidic solution (pH 4.0) for two hours. The ENC was highest for largetooth aspen (14.3 micro equiv H(+) g(-1)), and lowest for sugar maple and balsam fir (< 5 micro equiv H(+) g(-1)). The buffering capacity index (BCI) was determined by measuring the amount of acid necessary to produce a change of 5 micro equiv H(+) in the leaf homogenate. The BCI ranged from 883 micro equiv H(+) g(-1) for largetooth aspen to less than 105 micro equiv H(+) g(-1) for sugar maple and balsam fir. Leaves of sugar maple and balsam fir had a lower internal pH and a higher percentage of ENC over BCI than paper birch and largetooth aspen. Overall, ENC was correlated with the concentration of all leaf nutrients except Ca, and BCI was correlated with Mg, N and Ca. The site effect was relatively unimportant for all variables.     

Relationship between roughness parameters based on material ratio curve and tactile roughness for sanded surfaces of two hardwoods

The roughness parameters on the material ratio curves were related to tactile roughness for samples of buna and mizunara. The surfaces of the samples were sanded using various grades of coated abrasives and the roughness parameters, reduced peak height (Rpk), core roughness depth (Rk), and reduced valley depth (Rvk), were estimated on the material ratio curves, which were obtained from roughness profiles determined using robust Gaussian regression filter. The values of Rpk and Rk were almost the same for buna and mizunara under the same sanding conditions and increased exponentially with tactile roughness. The coefficients of determination of those parameters and tactile roughness were higher than 0.79 at all cutoff wavelengths. On the other hand, the value of Rvk for mizunara was significantly larger than that for buna because of the deep local valleys. There was no relationship between Rvk and tactile roughness for both species.     

Douglas-fir wood quality studies part I: Effects of age and stimulated growth on wood density and anatomy

Douglas-fir trees about 21 years old and growing on a poor site were thinned and fertilized causing accelerated growth. The characteristics of the wood across the 30-year age span were studied for 7 trees from the treated plot. Four trees of nearly uniform ring growth were also studied for some characteristics. Radial and tangential tracheid diameters, tracheid length and percent latewood were correlated quite well with log of age, coefficients ranged from 0.76 to 0.88 on pooled data. All tracheid dimensions when correlated with log of age gave high coefficients on a within-tree basis. The strongest relationship in all age-related factors was between 0 and 12 to 14 years. Specific gravity increased with age in all trees to about 16 to 18 years, then leveled off.Fertilization and thinning caused immediate production of lower density wood with somewhat lower percent latewood, a slight decrease in tracheid diameter tangentially but slightly greater radially, and a small decrease in tracheid length. The effects were mainly in the first 3 to 4 years after treatment, then there was recovery to normal wood density and cell dimensions. Wood from the trees of uniform growth showed no significant change over the same time period in percent latewood, specific gravity, and tracheid length.The research was financed by funds from State of Washington Initiative 171, Institute of Forest Products and the College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle.     

Studies of the degradation and protection of wood surfaces

Summary Large weight losses occurred in thin veneers of radiata pine (P. radiata) during natural weathering due mainly to loss of lignin and hemicelluloses. This was demonstrated by direct chemical analysis and by spectrocopic techniques. Treatment of veneers with dilute aqueous solutions of the recognized surface stabilizing compound chromium trioxide was found to dramatically restrict weight loss during weathering, but similar applications of ferric compound were less effective (Evans, Schmalzl 1989). In order to rationalize these protective effects FTIR internal reflectance spectroscopy was used to study chemical changes taking place at the wood surface upon treatment and during weathering. The spectra obtained provide direct evidence for the modification and stabilization of the lignin aromatic system with aqueous chromium trioxide and to a lesser extent with ferric salts. It is postulated that photostable lignin complexes are formed. The implications of these findings for the development of improved surface stabilizing compounds for wood are discussed briefly.The authors wish to thank the following: Tom Syers and Lloyd Vickers (C.S.I.R.O., Division of Forestry and Forest Products); Helen Neave, and Clive Hilliker (Australian National University, Department of Forestry) for technical assistance, and the Stanley Melbourne Bruce fund for financially supporting part of the work     

Effects of fragmentation on juvenile morphology of Acer saccharum Marsh. (sugar maple) in temperate forests of northeastern Ohio,USA

The influence of forest fragmentation on population and community dynamics of woody plants has been well established worldwide, but rarely at the level of an individual plant. We evaluated the influence of fragmentation on juvenile stem morphology of Acer saccharum Marsh. (sugar maple), while also examining light levels and considering possible confounding effects attributed to elevation gradients in temperate forests of northeastern Ohio, USA. At two sites, plant stem dimensions, canopy openness, and relative ground level elevation were measured using randomly positioned plots in forest edge and interior habitats that were within 25 and 60–100 m from a forest edge, respectively. Ratios of stem length to stem basal diameter were greater in forest interiors than near forest edges. These differences in stem morphology between habitats were likely a result of stem elongation in relation to a shade avoidance response in forest interiors that were consistently darker than forest edge areas across study sites. By contrast, such morphological differences were likely not related to variation in relative ground level elevation since a subtle elevation gradient was detected at only one site. We encourage experimentation to identify mechanisms that affect plant stem morphology of young individuals and its influence, in turn, on plant population dynamics in fragmented forests.