Abstract
This paper is concerned with the determination of hygroexpansion coefficients of wood. Wood is a naturally hygroscopic material, attracting moisture from its surroundings. Its dimensions change depending on the actual moisture content. This dependence is characterized by the coefficient of hygroexpansion. For complex microstructures, this coefficient can be determined, similarly to the coefficient of thermal expansion, either from analytical or numerical homogenization. The homogenization procedure, used in this paper, comprises several steps corresponding to the wood structural composition. Accuracy of this approach is governed by correctness of the chosen input parameters. One of the most important parameters are the volume fractions of the earlywood and latewood. Ascertained dependence of the earlywood and latewood volume fractions on dry wood density is also presented.
Highlights
Friendly materials are getting to the forefront of global interest and one of them is wood
As these refer to the level of cell wall, they are the same for earlywood, latewood and equivalent wood
While the Mori-Tanaka method provided the effective properties of individual cell wall layers, numerical homogenization was adopted at the level of tracheids and annual rings
Summary
Friendly materials are getting to the forefront of global interest and one of them is wood. The wood is a natural cellular material and as such its properties change depending on growth site and species. Each layer is composed of four basic elements: lignin, hemicellulose, cellulose (crystalline and amorphous) and extractives. Due to their low volume fraction, the extractives are often neglected, as was the case in the present study. The microfibril angle generally changes within the cell wall, but for simplicity it is assumed constant in individual layers. It is one of the main factors influencing the wood properties, see e.g. It is one of the main factors influencing the wood properties, see e.g. [4]
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