Dynamic viscoelastic behavior of wood under drying conditions

Abstract

In this study heartwood from a Chinese fir [Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook] plantation was treated using a high-temperature drying (HTD) method at 115°C, a low-temperature drying (LTD) method at 65°C, and freeze vacuum drying (FVD), respectively. The dynamic viscoelastic properties of dried wood specimens were investigated. The measurements were carried out at a temperature range of −120 to 250°C at four different frequencies (1, 2, 5, and 10 Hz) using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). We have drawn the following conclusions: 1) the storage modulus E′ and loss modulus E″ are the highest for HTD wood and the lowest for FVD wood; 2) three relaxation processes were detected in HTD and LTD wood, attributed to the micro-Brownian motion of cell wall polymers in the non-crystalline region, the oscillations of the torso of cell wall polymers, and the motions of the methyl groups of cell wall polymers in the non-crystalline region in a decreasing order of temperatures at which they occurred; and 3) in FVD wood, four relaxation processes were observed. A newly added relaxation is attributed to the micro-Brownian motions of lignin molecules. This study suggests that both the HTD and the LTD methods restrict the micro-Brownian motion of lignin molecules somewhat by the cross-linking of chains due to their heating history.