Density, hardness and strength properties of densified fir and aspen woods pretreated with water repellents

Abstract

Abstract In this study, the effect of thermo-mechanical densification on the density, hardness, compression strength, bending strength (MOR), and modulus of elasticity (MOE) of fir and aspen wood pretreated with water repellents was analyzed. Wood specimens were impregnated with paraffin, linseed oil and styrene after pre-vacuum treatment. Then, the impregnated wood specimens were densified with compression ratios of 20 and 40%, and at 120, 150 and 180 °C. The results indicated that the density, hardness and strength properties of the all densified specimens (untreated and impregnated) increased depending on the compression ratio and temperature. For all tested properties, higher increases were obtained in the paraffin and styrene pretreated specimens compared to untreated samples. However, the increase rates in linseed oil pretreated specimens were generally lower than untreated specimens. Regarding water repellents the most successful results in all tested properties were determined in styrene pretreated specimens. The density, hardness and strength properties of all specimens increased with the increase in compression ratio. On the other hand, the increase in the compression temperature negatively affects the properties of untreated and linseed oil pretreated specimens, while having a generally positive effect on the properties of paraffin pretreated specimens. However, all tested properties of styrene pretreated specimens have increased significantly due to the increase in compression temperature. The increasing strength properties of wood as a result of densification have increased much more with paraffin and especially styrene pretreatment. These combinations can be considered as an important potential for applications that require more hardness and strength.