Physical, Water Diffusion and Micro-Structural Analysis of “Canarium Schweinfurthii Engl”

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the morphological, microstructural characteristics and water diffusion parameters of the Canarium schweinfurthii (CS) shellnut. This work is part of a vast project to valorize the above-mentioned cores for possible industrial use as charges in composites or abrasives materials. The study was based on the characterization of intrinsic physical characteristics of the coreshells scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observations desorption, adsorption and absorption kinetics. The water diffusion phenomenon was modeled and it appears that the Page model well predicted the kinetic of drying, absorption and adsorption. The effective diffusion coefficient and the energy of activation were calculated at three isothermal temperatures (50˚C, 70˚C and 90˚C). There was a tendency for hysteresis in the sorption-desorption cycles. These results strongly predicted the possibility of using these products as a filler in composites, clay building materials and cement because of their high water diffusion stability on a macroscopic scale.

Physical and mechanical properties of two tropical wood (Detarium macrocarpum and Piptadeniastrum africanum) and their potential as substitutes to traditionally used wood in Cameroon

“…Static three-point bending test. The three-point bending test and the samples were carried out following the standard 41 used by Ndapeu et al 42 Twenty specimens 31 of dimensions 20 × 20 × 360 mm 3 were tested on a universal tensile testing machine (Figure 2(b)), the principle of which has been described previously. The ultimate tensile stress σ fH is determined by equation (15); and then the apparent MOE E fH is determined from the force (P) and strain (f) curves in equation (16).…”