Variability in Mechanical and Drying Properties for Blackbutt Timber in New South Wales

Abstract

AbstractVariability is a key issue in the processing of biological materials, in this case the drying of hardwood timber. This paper reports measurements of variability of mechanical properties and correlations with basic density and diffusion coefficients, which are relevant to the drying of blackbutt, Eucalyptus pilularis Sm, from Northern New South Wales. Specifically, radial, circumferential and height variations are reported for two regrowth blackbutt logs. Both blackbutt logs consisted of more than 80% heartwood, thus diffusion was considered as the main transport mechanism of moisture for modelling purposes.The modulus of elasticity for boards taken from two blackbutt trees increased from their green state to their kiln-dried state, generally by a factor of around two. An analysis of variance of wood samples from different parts of the two blackbutt logs showed that the variability of basic density, diffusion coefficient and most mechanical properties of timber, are significant in the radial direct...