Evaluation of Eucalyptus microcorys wood properties

Francisco Antonio Rocco Lahr,Juliano Souza Vasconcelos,Victor Almeida De Araujo,André Luis Christoforo,Marta Cristina De Jesus Albuquerque Nogueira

doi:10.34062/afs.v7i4.10882

Abstract

Eucalypt varieties have been identified as multipurpose materials. With origins in those nations of Oceania, this genus has been applied for purposes such as pulp and paper, bioenergy, civil construction, and furniture. Very suitable as firewood and charcoal, Eucalyptus microcorys would have good potentialities as structural solutions for construction. But, this wood species is not easily found as building parts in the Brazilian market. This paper aimed to develop a broad evaluation of this species to highlight their features for the utilization as structural lumber. Based on the Brazilian standard document on wooden structures, sixteen properties were evaluated to emphasize such potentialities. Using two moisture contents, these conditions were adopted to identify each wood property at green and dried points. About 966 repeats were realized in these tests. Nine properties showed influences with the moisture reduction as well as perceptible increases in their resistances: static bending, parallel and perpendicular compressions, and parallel tensile in the modulus of rupture; perpendicular compression and parallel tensile in the modulus of elasticity; and, shear stress and hardness properties in parallel and perpendicular directions. Eucalyptus microcorys wood reached good resistance properties, justifying its potentiality for construction in structural uses.

Highlights

Tallowwood is among the six most popular hardwoods in Australia (Krilov 1986), and its origin is related to Myrtaceae family, in those dicotyledonous woody plants (Govaerts et al 2008)
Based on the Brazilian standard document ABNT NBR 7190 (1997), sixteen properties were evaluated at two moisture contents conditions, green and dried points
From t-test, the statistical analysis revealed an influence of moisture content reduction in the bulk density (P-value < 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

Tallowwood is among the six most popular hardwoods in Australia (Krilov 1986), and its origin is related to Myrtaceae family, in those dicotyledonous woody plants (Govaerts et al 2008). Tallowwood efficiently grows in latitudes between 25° to 32° S, especially in wet weather, with hot summer and cold winter, and annual rainfall from 800 to 1600 millimeters, living both in good soils and in poor ones (Hills and Brown 1931). This occurrence is justified by its presence in tall open forests commonly on rainforest fringes, associated with at least six other Eucalyptus species (Boland et al 2006). Since 1980s, tallowwood has been found in Brazil, in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio Grande do Sul (Jankowsky and Aguiar 1983; Brito et al 1983; Pereira et al 2000; Shimizu and Carvalho 2000; Martins et al 2013)

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