Comparative study on overall, surface and centre compressed solid wood
摘要
For more efficient utilisation of low-density solid wood, this study used white poplar (Populus tomentosa) solid wood as the material. Surface, centre, and overall compressed solid wood were subsequently obtained, and a comparative analysis was conducted on their structure, density, modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of rupture (MOR), and hardness. The results indicated that different thermos-hydro-mechanical (THM) treatment processes could effectively and accurately control the wood structure. In addition, when the compression rate was the same, an uneven structure was more conducive to improving wood density and bending resistance. Moreover, the higher the surface layer density, the greater the bending properties and hardness. Consequently, surface-compressed wood exhibited the highest compressed layer density, peak density, MOE, MOR, and hardness among the three types of compressed wood. Specifically, when the overall compression rate was 20.0%, its layer density, peak density, MOE, MOR, and hardness were 0.73 g/cm3, 0.85 g/cm3, 15.97 GPa, 105.19 MPa and 35.60 N/mm2, respectively. In summary, in wood applications, positioning the densified layer in the most critical areas could improve the physical and mechanical properties of wood and promote more efficient utilisation.