Time dependence of Poisson’s effect in wood III: asymmetry of three-dimensional viscoelastic compliance matrix of Japanese cypress

To understand the viscoelasticity of wood three dimensionally, matched samples of Japanese cypress were loaded in uniaxial tensile creep in the longitudinal (L), radial (R), and tangential (T) directions at approximately 9.7 % equilibrium moisture content. Longitudinal and transverse strains were measured for the determination of viscoelastic Poisson’s ratios and three-dimensional viscoelastic compliance tensors concerning the normal strain. The changes in the transverse strains showed the same tendencies as those in the longitudinal strains, in all directions of loading. That is, during creep, the absolute value of transverse strain continued to increase with the gradual reduction in the increase rate; immediately after the removal of the load, it recovered rapidly, after which it continued to recover slowly. The transverse strain increased most easily in the T direction, followed by R and L, during creep. All the viscoelastic Poisson’s ratios and the absolute values of all elements of the viscoelastic compliance increased logarithmically with creep time. The three-dimensional viscoelastic compliance matrix for Japanese cypress is concluded to be asymmetric.     

Durability evaluation of particleboards by accelerated aging tests

Summary Specimens of four commercially produced particleboards were exposed to various accelerated aging treatments: 1) 6-cycle ASTM D-1037 exposure, 2) 6-cycle WCAMA exposure, 3) BS 5669 test, 4) cyclic soak-dry test, and 5) cyclic boil-dry test. Thickness swelling (TS) and internal bond strength (IB) were measured after each step of each cycle. Phenol and phenol (face)/isocyanate (core)bonded boards are more durable than urea and melamine urea bonded boards. The effect of treatment 1) is most severe on TS and IB retention, followed in order by treatments 2), 5), 4) and 3). When the value of springback reached about 35%, IB became equal to zero.     

The influences of boiling and drying treatments on the behaviors of tension wood with gelatinous layers in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zelkova serrata</Emphasis>

This study examined how boiling and drying treatments influenced various physical properties of the tension wood with gelatinous fibers (G-fibers) of a 29-yearold Zelkova branch. By boiling treatment, tension wood with numerous G-fibers contracted considerably in the longitudinal direction and the longitudinal Young’s modulus decreased in spite of the water-saturated condition. The drying treatment caused green tension wood and boiled tension wood with numerous G-fibers to shrink longitudinally and increased their longitudinal Young’s moduli. These specific behaviors in tension wood were highly correlated with the proportion of G-fibers in a specimen and were probably caused by the microscopic behavior of cellulose microfibril (CMF) in the gelatinous layers (G-layers). The longitudinal shrinkage of tension wood due to drying suggests the existence of a hygro-sensible, noncrystalline region in the CMF, which is abundant in the G-layer. Furthermore, the noncrystalline region in the CMF softens during boiling treatment, resulting in the reduction of the longitudinal Young’s modulus in tension wood. The longitudinal contraction of tension wood with G-fibers by boiling might be caused by the tensile growth stress remaining in green G-layers. However, no changes were detected in the 004 d-spacing of cellulose crystal in tension wood from the boiling and drying treatments, regardless of the proportion of G-fibers.     

Both stem and crown mass affect tree resistance to uprooting

To examine the hypothesis that both stem and crown mass affect the resistance of a tree to uprooting and that tree resistance increases with increasing crown mass, we conducted tree-pulling experiments on three Picea glehnii plantations (stands A, B, and C: 27–32 years old) that differed in tree density and slenderness ratio. Allometries between crown and stem masses and between the critical uprooting moment and stem mass differed significantly among the three stands, with the crown mass and critical moment significantly larger in stand C than in stands A or B, despite the same stem mass. These results quantitatively verified our hypothesis. Allometries between crown and stem masses and between critical uprooting moment and stem mass were highly significant in each stand but were stand specific. Therefore, these allometries can be used to estimate tree resistance to uprooting in a given stand but not for data compiled from stands of various conditions and tree shapes. The allometry between critical moment and aboveground mass did not differ among the three Picea stands; thus, it is not stand specific and is generally appropriate to use for estimating tree resistance. To increase tree resistance to uprooting, we recommend light management for Picea glehnii plantations and probably other coniferous plantations as well.     

Continuum contraction of tension wood fiber induced by repetitive hygrothermal treatment

Wood Science and Technology - Tension wood, when kiln-dried, is likely to deform hugely, which is probably caused by a gelatinous layer of the gelatinous fiber. To elucidate the mechanism behind...     

Effects of five oleanolic acid triterpenoid saponins from the rhizome of Anemone raddeana on stimulus-induced superoxide generation, phosphorylation of proteins and translocation of cytosolic compounds to cell membrane in human neutrophils

Five oleanolic acid triterpenoid saponins (OTS-1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) were isolated from the rhizome of Anemone raddeana. The effect of these triterpenoid saponins on stimulus-induced superoxide generation in human neutrophils was assayed by measuring the reduction of ferricytochrome c using a dual-beam spectrophotometer. The phosphorylation of neutrophil proteins, and translocation of p67(phox), p47(phox) and Rac to plasma membrane were investigated using specific monoclonal antibodies. The five oleanolic acid triterpenoid saponins used in this experiment suppressed N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP)-induced superoxide generation in a concentration-dependent manner. OTS-1, 2 and 4 suppressed phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)- and arachidonic acid (AA)-induced superoxide generation in a concentration-dependent manner, but OTS-3 and 5 showed no effect. fMLP- and PMA-induced tyrosyl or serine/threonine phosphorylation, and fMLP-, PMA- and AA-induced translocation of p67(phox), p47(phox) and Rac to plasma membrane were in parallel with the suppression of the stimulus-induced superoxide generation.     

Thermal behaviors and transitions of wood detected by temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry

The thermal properties and transitions of solid and ground wood samples conditioned at different humidity conditions were investigated by temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry. A time-dependent transition was detected as an endothermic peak in the total and non-reversing heat flows and as a step change in the reversing heat flow during the first heating run of samples with moisture contents above 5?%, but it disappeared in the second heating run. These different thermal behaviors indicate that the effect of heat and moisture on the thermal properties of wood is history dependent. This step change in the reversing heat flow is considered to be a glass transition of moist wood. Other relaxation processes (e.g., enthalpy relaxation) occur simultaneously with this glass transition. The temperature ranges of the transition and the relaxation decreased drastically as the moisture content increased up to 11?%, while they remained almost constant at higher moisture contents. In addition, the transitions of the ground wood occurred at lower temperatures than those of the solid wood at similar moisture contents. Kissinger plots revealed that the apparent activation energy for the glass transition of the solid wood with a moisture content of 11?% was about 600?kJ/mol, whereas that of the ground wood was 220?kJ/mol.     

Dielectric relaxation due to heterogeneous structure in moist wood

Dielectric properties in three main directions for hinoki wood (Chamaecyparis obtusa) specimens conditioned at various levels of relative humidity were measured in the frequency range from 20 Hz to 10 MHz over the temperature range from −150°C to 20°C. Three relaxations were observed in the specimens conditioned at high levels of relative humidity. The relaxation in the highest frequency range was ascribed to the motions of adsorbed water molecules. The relaxation in the middle frequency range remained unchanged by the ethanol–benzene extraction of specimens. The relaxation location was independent of measuring directions. The relaxation in the lowest frequency range was not detected in the specimens impregnated with methyl methacrylate (MMA). This result suggested that the relaxation was due to electrode polarization. The Cole-Cole circular arc law applied well to two relaxations recognized in the specimens impregnated with MMA. The relaxation magnitude in the middle frequency range was extremely large, and the distribution of relaxation times was very narrow. These characteristics suggested relaxation of the Maxwell-Wagner type resulting from the interfacial polarization in the heterogeneous structure, which included adsorbed water with large electrical conductivity within the insulating cell walls.