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Abstract
In this study, methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMOS) was used as a reagent to prepare SiO2-based wood-inorganic composites (WICSiO2) via the sol-gel process, and subsequently, the extended creep behaviors of WICSiO2 with weight percent gains (WPGs) of 10%, 20%, and 30% were estimated using the stepped isostress method (SSM). The results revealed that the density of all samples ranged from 426 to 513 kg/m3, and no significant difference in the modulus of elasticity (MOE) was noted among all of the samples (10.5–10.7 GPa). However, the MOR of WICSiO2 with a WPG of 20% (102 MPa) was significantly greater than that of untreated wood (87 MPa). In addition, according to the result using the SSM, the SSM-predicted creep master curve fitted well with the experimental data for the untreated wood and WICSiO2. This result demonstrated that the SSM could be a useful method to evaluate long-term creep behaviors of wood and WICSiO2. Furthermore, the activation volume (V*) of the specimens was calculated from the linear slope of Eyring plots, and the resulting V* of all of the WICSiO2 (0.754–0.842 nm3) was lower than that of untreated wood (0.856 nm3). On the other hand, the modulus reduction of untreated wood showed 39%, 45%, 48%, and 51% at 5, 15, 30, and 50 years, respectively. In contrast, the modulus reduction of the WICSiO2 with a WPG of 10% decreased to 25%, 31%, 35%, and 38% at 5, 15, 30, and 50 years, respectively. Similar trends were also observed for other WICSiO2 with different WPGs. Of these, the WICSiO2 with a WPG of 20% exhibited the lowest reduction in time-dependent modulus (31%) over a 50-year period. Accordingly, the creep resistance of the wood could be effectively enhanced under the MTMOS treatment.
Highlights
During the last few years, slicewood or veneer has become increasingly important as an alternative to high quality wood because the supply of large trees continues to diminish and the cost of wood continues to increase [1,2]
The WICSiO2 with a weight percent gains (WPGs) of 20% exhibited the lowest reduction in time-dependent modulus (31%) over a 50-year period
The resulting master curves of all the WICSiO2 were highly consistent with their experimental data (Figure 4). These results showed that the predicted creep curves of the wood and WICSiO2 using the stepped isostress method (SSM) procedure were valid in matching long-term creep behavior
Summary
During the last few years, slicewood or veneer has become increasingly important as an alternative to high quality wood because the supply of large trees continues to diminish and the cost of wood continues to increase [1,2]. Slicewood or veneer generally have limited exterior applications and long-term utilization because of their low quality [3,4]. Various wood modifications have been employed to overcome the drawbacks and to introduce multi-functionalities to low-quality wood, such as acetylation, furfurylation, propionylation, heat treatment, and inorganic modification using sol-gel technology [5,6,7,8,9,10]. The application of metal alkoxides for wood modification using the sol-gel process has been known for more than 20 years [16,17].
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