The Effects of Acrylate Impregnation of Black Spruce Timber as Connectors Strength

Abstract

Chemical impregnation of black spruce was conducted to enhance the wood embedment capacity. The formulation was made of 1,6 hexanediol diacrylate, trimethylpropane triacrylate, and a polyester acrylate oligomer. A second formulation, same as the first but with 1% wt of SiO2 nanoparticles, was selected to investigate the potential of nanoparticles and to improve the efficiency of the treatment. The wood embedment capacity was carried out by a dowel-bearing test, which was performed for the two treatments and for an untreated wood group. Both treatments showed an increase of strength of nearly 50% when compared to untreated samples. Micrograph views revealed that the impregnation solution penetrated into the wood only up to 100 μm. Hence, with low chemical consumption, the structural bearing capacity can be significantly increased.