Theoretical modeling of the effects of temperature and moisture content on the acoustic velocity of Pinus resinosa wood

Abstract

To investigate the effects of temperature and moisture content (MC) on acoustic wave velocity (AWV) in wood, the relationships between wood temperature, MC, and AWV were theoretically analyzed. According to the theoretical propagation characteristics of the acoustic waves in the wood mixture and the differences in velocity among various media (including ice, water, pure wood or oven-dried wood), theoretical relationships of temperature, MC, and AWV were established, assuming that the samples in question were composed of a simple mixture of wood and water or of wood and ice. Using the theoretical model, the phase transition of AWV in green wood near the freezing point (as derived from previous experimental results) was plausibly described. By comparative analysis between theoretical and experimental models for American red pine (Pinus resinosa) samples, it was established that the theoretically predicted AWV values matched the experiment results when the temperature of the wood was below the freezing point of water, with an average prediction error of 1.66%. The theoretically predicted AWV increased quickly in green wood as temperature decreased and changed suddenly near 0 °C, consistent with the experimental observations. The prediction error of the model was relatively large when the temperature of the wood was above the freezing point, probably due to an overestimation of the effect of the liquid water content on the acoustic velocity and the limited variables of the model. The high correlation between the predicted and measured acoustic velocity values in frozen wood samples revealed the mechanisms of temperature, MC, and water status and how these affected the wood (particularly its acoustic velocity below freezing point of water). This result also verified the reliability of a previous experimental model used to adjust for the effect of temperature during field testing of trees.