Destabilization of wood microstructure caused by drying

Abstract

To obtain new information about destabilization of wood microstructure caused by drying, effects of drying history on physical properties of wood were studied using the measurements of dynamic viscoelastic properties and gas adsorption. First, dynamic viscoelastic properties of dry wood in the radial direction were measured between 100°C and 200°C. Unstable states of dry wood still existed after heating at 105°C for 30 min and were modified by activated molecular motion in the first heating process to higher temperatures above 105°C, and dry wood subjected to higher temperatures showed larger dynamic elastic modulus (E′) and smaller loss tangent (tan δ). The phenomena thought to be caused by the unstable states reappeared after wetting and drying again. Secondly, carbon dioxide adsorptions onto dry wood at ice-water temperature (273 K) were measured, and micropore size distributions were obtained using the Horvath–Kawazoe (HK) method. Micropores smaller than 0.6 nm exist in dry wood. They decreased with elevating drying temperatures from 50°C to 160°C and increased again after rewetting and drying. In conclusion, it was confirmed that wood components in the microstructures were destabilized by drying and that physical properties of dry wood changed with drying histories.