Use of a resistive moisture meter to estimate the moisture content of untreated and thermally modified Tectona grandis L.f. juvenile wood

Abstract

The effects of the TanWood thermal modification process on the resistive properties of Tectona grandis juvenile wood were verified, and the best setting for the use of a resistive moisture meter was determined for both untreated and thermally modified wood (TMW). Sixteen treatments were assessed for both untreated and TMW according to three factors: moisture meter scale (four levels), electrode length (two levels), and grain direction (two levels). Moisture content was measured in four steps with equilibrium moisture contents of 6.0%, 8.6%, 12.2%, and 15.6%. For statistical analysis, the oven-drying moisture content was used as the standard. Statistical analysis included the statistics bias, mean absolute difference, mean square error, tests of linear correlation, and comparison of means. The TanWood process of thermal modification significantly changed the resistive properties of Tectona grandis juvenile wood once different results were found for untreated and TMW regarding the meter’s scale of use and the reliable ranges of moisture content measuring.