Characteristics of
heat-treated Turkish pine and fir
wood after ThermoWood processing
Hamiyet Sahin Kol*
Technical
Education Faculty, Department of Furniture and Decoration Education, Karabuk University, Karabuk - 78050, Turkey
(Received: September 03, 2009; Revised received:
January 22, 2010;
Accepted: February
24, 2010)
Abstract: The Finnish wood heat treatment
technology, ThermoWood, was recently introduced to Turkey.
Data about the mechanical and physical properties of Turkish wood species are
important for industry and academia. In this study, two industrially important
Turkish wood species, pine (Pinus nigra
Arnold.) and fir (Abies bornm?lleriana
Mattf.) were heat-treated using the ThermoWood process. Pine and fir samples were thermally
modified for 2 hr at 212 and 190oC, respectively. The modulus of
rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity in bending (MOE), impact bending strength
(IBS), and compression strength (CS), in addition to swelling (Sw) and shrinkage (Sh) of
thermally-modified wood were examined. The results indicate that the heat
treatment method clearly decreased the MOR, MOE and IBS of pine and fir.
However, a small increase was observed for CS values of heat treated wood
species. The most affected mechanical properties were MOR and IBS for both pine
and fir. The reduction in MOE was smaller than that in MOR and IBS. Volumetric
shrinkage and swelling of these species were also improved by approximately
half. In addition, the changes in the mechanical and physical properties
studied in pine were larger than that of fir.
Key
words: Heat treatment,
Mechanical properties, Physical properties, Pine, Fir
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