Shrinkage and Swelling of Greek Chestnut Wood (CastaneaSativaMill.) in Relation to Extractives Presence

Abstract

The study of various woods shrinkage is of particular practical importance because the wood’s property to shrink and swell with the adsorption or absorption of moisture from the atmosphere is a main cause of many defects that occur in wood and furniture during weather conditions changing. In the present study, measurements of the shrinkage of chestnut coppice wood samples were performed before and after extraction. The extraction was carried out with hot water for 6 and 12 days. Afterwards, the dry density, radial and tangential shrinkage were determined both in air-dry conditions and in absolute dry conditions. Moreover, the fiber saturation point was determined for the selected samples. The most significant result arrived from this study is that, now, in conjunction with the other researches have been made, there is enough evidence for chestnut wood from Mediterranean coppice forests, to claim that maximum radial shrinkage is about 3.83% (ranging from 3.40% - 4.12%) and maximum tangential shrinkage is about 6.58% (ranging from 6.21% - 8.20%).