Mechanical behaviour of Eucalyptus wood modified by heat

Summary  Eucalyptus wood (Blue gum) shows very high mechanical performances, presents very few knots and gives strong glued joints, reasons that justify its interest for structural uses, carpentry and furniture components or even building construction. The inconveniences of this species are its slow and difficult drying process and its low dimensional stability – with very high swelling and shrinkage coefficients. The drying process has been studied at INETI and the problem revealed to be solved with appropriate drying schedules and the stresses released by a steam treatment. Heat treatment of Eucalyptus wood has been identified as one of the most promising techniques to increase its dimensional stability. Studies in this area still proceed. This paper presents some test results that show the influence of heat treatment in the strength properties of this wood, namely the bending modulus of elasticity and tensile strength perpendicular to grain, in addition to the explanation of dimensional stability evaluation and some results of dimensional stability treatments. Received 15 June 1998