Abstract
Thermal modification is an environmentally friendly process that enhances the lifetime and properties of timber. In this work, the absorption of water in pine wood (Pinus sylvestris) samples, which were modified by the ThermoWood process, was studied by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and gravimetric analysis. The modification temperatures were varied between 180°C and 240°C. The data shows that the modification at 240°C and at 230°C decreases the water absorption rate significantly and slightly, respectively, while lower temperatures do not have a noticeable effect. MR images reveal that free water absorption in latewood (LW) is faster than in earlywood (EW), but in the saturated sample, the amount of water is greater in EW. Individual resin channels can be resolved in the high-resolution images, especially in LW regions of the modified samples, and their density was estimated to be (2.7±0.6) mm-2. The T2 relaxation time of water is longer in the modified wood than in the reference samples due to the removal of resin and extractives in the course of the modification process.
Acknowledgments
P. K. is grateful to the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Tauno Tönning Foundation, and the Finnish Science Foundation for Economics and Technology for financial support.
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©2015 by De Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Preface to the COST Action FP0904
- A hygrothermo-mechanical model for wood: part A. Poroelastic formulation and validation with neutron imaging
- A hygrothermo-mechanical model for wood: Part B. Parametric studies and application to wood welding
- The toughness of hygrothermally modified wood
- Property changes in thermo-hydro-mechanical processing
- Quality control methods for thermally modified wood
- Compressed and moulded wood from processing to products
- Original Articles
- Magnetic resonance imaging study of water absorption in thermally modified pine wood
- Quasi-static and dynamic nanoindentation to determine the influence of thermal treatment on the mechanical properties of bamboo cell walls
- Nonlinear tensile creep behavior of radiata pine at elevated temperatures and different moisture contents
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Preface to the COST Action FP0904
- A hygrothermo-mechanical model for wood: part A. Poroelastic formulation and validation with neutron imaging
- A hygrothermo-mechanical model for wood: Part B. Parametric studies and application to wood welding
- The toughness of hygrothermally modified wood
- Property changes in thermo-hydro-mechanical processing
- Quality control methods for thermally modified wood
- Compressed and moulded wood from processing to products
- Original Articles
- Magnetic resonance imaging study of water absorption in thermally modified pine wood
- Quasi-static and dynamic nanoindentation to determine the influence of thermal treatment on the mechanical properties of bamboo cell walls
- Nonlinear tensile creep behavior of radiata pine at elevated temperatures and different moisture contents