Tensile Properties Along the Grains of Earlywood and Latewood of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Dry and Wet State

Abstract

Mechanical parameters of Scots pine wood (Pinus sylvestris L.) of low (about 8%) and high (higher than the fiber saturation point) moisture content (MC) subjected to tensile stress along the grains were studied. The measurements were performed for microtome samples sliced from either earlywood or latewood and for samples containing both earlywood and latewood. The effect of MC on the mechanical properties of earlywood and latewood of Scots pine was different. The MC was found to have greater influence on the tensile strength and modulus of elasticity in latewood than in earlywood, but its effect on strain at failure was greater in earlywood. As determined individually for earlywood and latewood, the tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and the strain at failure that were calculated from the rule of mixtures (the weighted mean for earlywood and latewood) did not differ significantly from the values found in the samples containing both zones. This similarity was observed at low and high MC.