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Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of waterlogged archaeological wood at room temperature

  • Benedetto Pizzo EMAIL logo , Elisa Pecoraro and Simona Lazzeri
Published/Copyright: January 19, 2018
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Holzforschung
From the journal Holzforschung Volume 72 Issue 5

Abstract

The viscoelastic properties of waterlogged wood (WLW) were investigated via dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) at room temperature and under water saturated conditions, aiming at the investigation of the relationships between viscoelasticity and chemical composition. Different softwoods (SWs) and hardwoods (HWs) from several archaeological sites were sampled, which had different levels of decay (from highly-decayed to little changed). The analytical methods included lignin and holocellulose determination by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, moisture content (MC), basic density (BD), micromorphological observations, and the DMA was performed in three-point bending and submersion mode. Both HWs and SWs showed an exponential decrease of both storage modulus (E′) and loss modulus (E″), which are related to the amount of crystalline and paracrystalline cellulose left in the cell wall, respectively. The ratio E″/E′ (tanδ) varied with the frequency in different ways depending on the preservation state of the samples. Less decayed material had a higher tanδ than the fresh reference wood and lower (or similar) tanδ in the case of highly decayed samples. Accordingly, the long-term behaviour under a certain sustained load of WLW is decay dependent.

Keywords: damping; dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA); frequency sweep; holocellulose; lignin; loss modulus; low frequency DMA; storage modulus; viscoelasticity

Acknowledgements

This work was started during the PhD Thesis of Dr. Elisa Pecoraro. The analysed wood samples have been taken from small portions of the material collected during several years of research on waterlogged archaeological wood carried out at CNR-IVALSA. All authors are very grateful to the various conservation authorities that provided the material during these years: Soprintendenza Archeologia della Toscana; Ufficio Beni Archeologici della Soprintendenza per i beni culturali della Provincia Autonoma di Trento; Parco Archeologico di Ercolano and Herculaneum Conservation Project; Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle arti e Paesaggio per il Comune di Venezia e Laguna and CORILA (Consorzio Ricerche in Laguna); Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle arti e Paesaggio dell’Abruzzo; Soprintendenza Archeologia dell’Emilia-Romagna. The authors want also to express special thanks to Dr. Nicola Macchioni for his suggestions and support.

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: None declared.

  3. Employment or leadership: None declared.

  4. Honorarium: None declared.

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Received: 2017-7-17
Accepted: 2017-11-15
Published Online: 2018-1-19
Published in Print: 2018-4-25

©2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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  2. Original Articles
  3. Improved permeability of autohydrolyzed poplar sapwood against sodium hydroxide for CMP production
  4. Demethylation and other modifications of industrial softwood kraft lignin by laccase-mediators
  5. Activated carbon fiber from liquefied wood and polyvinyl butyral as an additive for production of flexible all-carbon yarn supercapacitors
  6. Short Note
  7. Fire retardancy of graphene oxide/wood composite (GOW) prepared by a vacuum-pulse dipping technique
  8. Original Articles
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  14. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of waterlogged archaeological wood at room temperature
  15. Obituary
  16. Professor Dr. Mikhail Yakovlevich Zarubin
https://doi.org/10.1515/hf-2017-0114
Keywords for this article
damping; dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA); frequency sweep; holocellulose; lignin; loss modulus; low frequency DMA; storage modulus; viscoelasticity

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Original Articles
  3. Improved permeability of autohydrolyzed poplar sapwood against sodium hydroxide for CMP production
  4. Demethylation and other modifications of industrial softwood kraft lignin by laccase-mediators
  5. Activated carbon fiber from liquefied wood and polyvinyl butyral as an additive for production of flexible all-carbon yarn supercapacitors
  6. Short Note
  7. Fire retardancy of graphene oxide/wood composite (GOW) prepared by a vacuum-pulse dipping technique
  8. Original Articles
  9. Comparison of physical and thermal properties of various wood-inorganic composites (WICs) derived by the sol-gel process
  10. Radiata pine wood treatment with a dispersion of aqueous styrene/acrylic acid copolymer
  11. Density profiles of novel kraft pulp and TMP based foam formed thermal insulation materials observed by X-ray tomography and densitometry
  12. Influence of timber moisture content on wave time-of-flight and longitudinal natural frequency in coniferous species for different instruments
  13. Dimensional changes of cell wall and cell lumens upon water sorption revisited. Literature review and mathematical considerations based on the cylindrical model
  14. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of waterlogged archaeological wood at room temperature
  15. Obituary
  16. Professor Dr. Mikhail Yakovlevich Zarubin
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