Abstract
Effects of natural weathering on oleothermally treated wood and coated with an organic silicone compound were studied. Slats of beech and fir woods were cut in sizes of 20×10×1 cm. The slats were treated by soybean oil at 230˚C for 1 h. Then, the half of the untreated and oleothermally treated slats were coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and the rest of them were considered as control. All slats were hanged in 45˚ angle at the southwest (SW) direction for 90 days. They were analyzed for color changes, roughness, and contact angle properties at 30-day intervals. Results showed that the oleothermal treatment of wood reduced discoloration of fir samples against natural weathering; however, the reducing effect was lower in the Beech samples. This treatment also reduced the surface roughness of the fir samples during weathering while it increased the surface roughness of beech. Wettability of the samples in both species, before and after weathering, was reduced by the oleothermal treatment. Results also revealed that coating of the wood surface with PDMS does not prevent the discoloration and surface roughness against weathering. Nevertheless, the coating could considerably decrease the hydrophilicity of the woods even after weathering.
Highlights
In nature, wood is constantly exposed to biological and non-biological degradation agents
In order to assess the effect of natural weathering on surface of the samples, colorimetric, roughness and contact angle properties were measured on the slats every 30 days intervals as explained below
According to the results shown in figures 4 and 5, it seems that oleothermal treatment of wood could more effectively improve its resistance to the color change caused by weathering in fir samples
Summary
Wood is constantly exposed to biological and non-biological degradation agents. Weathering is a non-biological degradation which should not be confused with damage caused by biological agents. Light absorption by the wood causes the formation of free radicals and the initiation of photochemical reactions at the surface. These reactions eventually cause discoloration, and subsequently roughness and cracking of the wood surface (Feist and Hon 1984, Feist 1990, Anderson et al 1991, Williams et al 2001, Williams 2005, Evans et al 2005).
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