Dimensional stability and equilibrium moisture content of thermally modified hardwoods

Abstract

The dimensional stability and equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of thermally modified hardwoods were studied. Lumber of yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera); red oak (Quercus borealis); white ash (Fraxinus americana), red maple (Acer rubrum); hickory (Carya glabra), and black cherry (Prunus serotina) were modified in industrial thermo-vacuum system. The water absorption rate, EMC, swelling, anti-swelling efficiency, shrinkage, anti-shrinkage efficiency, and anisotropy of the specimens were measured and compared to unmodified wood. The results show that thermal modification significantly decreased water absorption of wood which leads to improved dimensional stability. Specifically, thermally modified wood showed reduced EMC (22% in hickory to 59% in red maple), increased water absorption repellent (14.9% in black cherry to 29.6% in yellow-poplar), increased anti-swelling efficiency (14.2% in hickory to 71.4% in ash), increased anti-shrinkage efficiency (23.5% in red maple to 65.6% in ash), and reduced anisotropy coefficient (4.7% in red oak to 31.9% in black cherry).

Prediction of equilibrium moisture content and swelling of Thermally modified hardwoods by artificial neural networks

“…The data used in this study was previously published by Masoumi and Bond (2024). Test specimens were prepared from randomly selected lumber.…”

“…The primary objective of TM is to enhance the dimensional stability of wood, rendering it well-suited for applications in varying moisture conditions, particularly in outdoor applications. TMW exhibits altered equilibrium moisture content (EMC) and swelling compared to unmodi ed wood (Masoumi and Bond 2024).…”