Hardness and indentation modulus of resin-treated wood

Abstract

This study assesses the potential of instrumented macrohardness testing for the fast and convenient characterisation of resin-treated wood. The effect of WPG (weight per cent gain; percentage mass of resin based on dry wood; high, low) and curing conditions (dry, wet) on hardness and indentation modulus of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood was investigated for two thermosetting resins, phenol formaldehyde and methylated melamine formaldehyde. Thickness of the treated specimens broadly confirmed the findings of earlier studies that dry curing conditions increase degree of cell wall penetration. Dry curing resulted in equal or lower hardness, but it mostly increased indentation modulus. Hardness improvement seems to depend on the overall reduction of the void volume fraction in the wood, while indentation modulus depends on cell wall modification. Therefore, indentation modulus is expected to show a much better correlation with dimensional stability and durability of resin-treated wood than hardness.