Structural products made of beech wood: quality assessment of the raw material

Brunetti, Michele; Nocetti, Michela; Pizzo, Benedetto; Aminti, Giovanni; Cremonini, Corrado; Negro, Francesco; Zanuttini, Roberto; Romagnoli, Manuela; Mugnozza, Giuseppe Scarascia

doi:10.1007/s00107-020-01542-9

Cited by 31 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The visual strength reducing characteristics (i.e., the single knot parameters and the presence of the pith) were used to assign each piece of timber to a grade according to the rules, named visual-1 and visual-2, as previously reported (Brunetti et al 2020a). Similarly, the machine settings calculated for the strength class combinations D45/D24 and D45/D18 (the same classes achievable by the visual grading rules) were applied to the new sample.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fig. 1 shows the location of the Gargano sample and the four sources studied by Brunetti et al (2020a) that formed the original national sample. These four are referred to "Italy" from now on and will be compared to the Gargano sample.…”

Section: Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This allowed to calculate two parameters: the ratio of the minimum diameter of the knot to the dimension of the board side where it is measured (Dm/S) and the ratio of the sum of the knot projections on all the board sides to the double of the board width (sPr/2W). For each board, the highest value of both knot parameters considered alternatively in the visual rules developed in the previous work (Brunetti et al 2020a) was selected for further data analysis concerning knots.…”

Section: Visual and Machine Grading And Laboratory Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Italy, the properties of beech timber were investigated to develop visual grading rules and machine grading settings (Brunetti et al 2020a). Four visual rules were established using two different knot parameters with limitations aimed at either maximize the yields in the high strength classes or minimize the rejects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the study of Brunetti et al (2020a), beech timber was collected from four different sources along north, centre and south of Italy, including high and low quality material. The aim of the present study is the verification of the original sampling and the rules/settings early developed for the grading of Italian beech, by applying those to a new sample from a different source not used for the development of the grading rules/settings themselves.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Validation of visual and machine strength grading for Italian beech with additional sampling

Brunetti¹,

Aminti²,

Nocetti³

et al. 2021

iForest

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The typical variability of wood properties, higher than for other construction materials, requires a thorough knowledge of its mechanical performance. To make the use of wooden structural products safe and at the same time efficient, a proven methodology for the selection of the raw material is also crucial. As a general rule, the initial sampling is of vital importance to develop effective strength grading processes, but it is rarely verified with additional samples, besides those already included during the development of the grading procedure itself. Here, a new source of sawn timber was collected to verify the original sampling and to validate the visual and machine strength grading early developed for Italian beech. The new pieces were graded, destructively tested and the characteristic values of the graded material were calculated. The dispersion of the new data was found to be entirely included in that of the original data, proving an effective sampling of the resource variability. The correlations between properties were very similar comparing the original and the new sample, with the exception of the correlations between the dynamic modulus of elasticity and both bending strength and stiffness, which were lower in the new sample. The characteristic values of the graded new material were generally higher than the characteristics values of the corresponding strength classes as tabled in the technical standard. Only for one grade in the machine grading the strength reached 98.9% the class value, anyhow above the 90% required by the procedure of the checking of existing settings in a particular location, as provided by the related standard. In conclusion, the earlier development of the strength grading of Italian beech confirmed to be correct and safe.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Visual and Machine Grading And Laboratory Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Validation of visual and machine strength grading for Italian beech with additional sampling

Brunetti¹,

Aminti²,

Nocetti³

et al. 2021

iForest

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Evaluating small‐scale harvesting disturbance to the forest soil in Mediterranean beech high forests

Latterini,

Dyderski,

Horodecki

et al. 2024

Land Degrad Dev

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European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests in Central and Southern Italy are managed applying the shelterwood system. Prior to the regeneration cut, it is common to apply 2–3 thinning interventions, aiming to obtain mostly firewood, considering the low dimension and poor quality of the stems. These interventions are usually carried out by local forest enterprises relying on a low or medium level of mechanization (small‐scale forestry). In particular, the short wood system is applied, thus processing the logs to 1 m length and extracting them with forestry‐fitted farm tractors equipped with forwarding bins. Despite the large application of this harvesting system in the Mediterranean forestry, no information is available in the literature about its possible disturbance to the forest soil. To fulfill this knowledge gap, we developed the first assessment of soil physicochemical (bulk density, penetration resistance, shear resistance, organic matter content) and biological (soil microarthropods biodiversity evaluated with the QBS‐ar index, that is, an index based on the idea that high‐quality soils have more groups of microarthropods that are morphologically better adapted to the soil than low‐quality soils) properties for this kind of logging operation. In three case study areas in Central Italy, we applied an experimental design to evaluate separately the impacts related to the passage of the machine and that of the silvicultural treatment itself. We further applied linear mixed‐effect models to investigate the relationship between changes in soil physicochemical and biological properties. We found the effect of the silvicultural treatment to be negligible, but there was a significant alteration of the investigated parameters in the soil affected by the passage of the machine. Soil penetration and shear resistance doubled in the forwarding trails (0.25 MPa and 4.02 t m−2, respectively) in comparison with the other two experimental treatments (control area and soil not affected by the machine passage; about 0.12 MPa and 2.10 t m−2, respectively). Soil organic matter and soil microarthropod biodiversity (QBS‐ar index) were reduced by 25% in the forwarding trails (about 30% and 92 respectively) in comparison with the soil not affected by the machine passage (about 39% and about 130, respectively). Such significant disturbance, which occurred even if the applied machinery had lower weight in comparison to other alternatives (forwarders), is related to the high number of machine passes needed to extract the woody material with forwarding bins applying the short wood system. We found a significant relationship between soil compaction and soil organic matter removal and microarthropod biodiversity, with the latter which resulted significantly lower in more compacted and organic matter‐poor soils. We demonstrated that this small‐scale extraction system can have a negative effect on soil features in the short term. We therefore recommend the application of best management practices, for instance placing brush mats and logging residues, on the forwarding trails to limit the soil disturbance within the framework of small‐scale forestry. We further recommend a wider application of aerial harvesting systems, which generally have lower impacts to the soil. However, this could happen only after an extensive training program aimed to increase the knowledge and skills of local loggers about aerial harvesting systems.

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Timber tensile strength in mixed stands of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)

Rais¹,

Kovryga²,

Pretzsch

et al. 2022

Wood Sci Technol

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The conversion to climate-stable, resilient and productive forests has resulted in an increasing share of mixed stands. Different growth conditions and silvicultural treatments lead to an increased scatter in strength compared to what is expected from monoculture experience. The study (i) quantified the magnitude of variation in strength of European beech timber from stands of different composition and (ii) showed the impact of grading on the characteristic strength value of timber coming from those stands. Strength grading models and machine settings for hardwood tensile classes on over 900 European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) boards were derived. One model used only the dynamic modulus of elasticity (Edyn), and a more complex model used a knot value in addition. Afterwards, 407 boards from pure beech stands as well as mixed stands of beech with Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.), and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were graded and analyzed for their material properties from tension tests parallel to grain. Although a variance components analysis attributed only 4.2% of the variation to mixture, the ungraded timber showed significant strength differences between the pure and the beech-pine stands (65.2 versus 46.6 MPa). The yield of the material graded to the highest class in a class combination was higher in pure beech stands. The required characteristic strength values were mostly met for boards from the pure stands; while boards from the beech-pine mixed stands hardly ever reached the required values. To reduce strength variation and guarantee reliable timber products, strength grading should consider the various growth situations in forests when sampling material for the derivation of settings.

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Structural products made of beech wood: quality assessment of the raw material

Cited by 31 publications

References 12 publications

Validation of visual and machine strength grading for Italian beech with additional sampling

Validation of visual and machine strength grading for Italian beech with additional sampling

Evaluating small‐scale harvesting disturbance to the forest soil in Mediterranean beech high forests

Timber tensile strength in mixed stands of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)

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