Multi-scale investigation on mechanical properties of wood joints bonded with a polyurethane adhesive in successive cycles of accelerated aging treatments

Abstract

To gain a deeper understanding of the bond durability in adhesively bonded wood products, a multiscale investigation of the mechanical properties of wood joints bonded with a one-component polyurethane (PU) adhesive in successive cycles of accelerated aging treatment was conducted by combining nanoindentation (NI) and conventional tensile-shear techniques. The delamination ratio, shear strength, and wood failure ratio of the wood joints, as well as the reduced elasticity modulus (Er) and hardness (H) of the PU resin, cell walls in the interphase region (CW–I), and control cell walls (CW) were evaluated. The correlations between the macro shear strength and micromechanical properties were further established. The results showed that the average delamination ratios of the wood joints were 10%–26 % after eight cycles of hydrothermal treatment. Macromechanical and most micromechanical properties substantially decreased with an increase in the number of treatment cycles, with maximum reductions of 37 %, 24 %, 60 %, 56 %, 48 %, and 57 % for the shear strength, wood failure ratio, Er of PU, H of PU, Er of CW-I, and Er of CW, respectively. The linear regression for the mechanical properties and the number of treatment cycles indicated that the Er of PU, CW-I, and CW, as well as the H of PU, showed linear downward trends (with R2 values of 0.765–0.921) during successive aging treatments. Significant and positive linear correlations were found between the shear strength and micromechanical properties of PU, with correlation coefficients of 0.970 (P < 0.01) and 0.941 (P < 0.05) for Er and H of PU, respectively. The wood failure ratio showed significant positive correlations with the Er values of CW-I (P < 0.01) and CW (P < 0.05), whereas the proportion of wood failure in the interphase was significantly (P < 0.05) negatively correlated with the Er value of CW. The shear strength was positively correlated with the Er of the cell walls, with correlation coefficients of 0.861 and 0.868 for CW-I and CW, respectively. In summary, both the micromechanical properties of the PU resin and the elasticity of the wood cell walls in the wood-adhesive interphase were demonstrated to be key factors affecting the bond durability of wood bond joints.