Determination of wood-water relationship and mass diffusivity after stabilizing treatment

• Grant number: 14/12922-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: November 01, 2014
• End date: February 28, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Technology and Use of Forest Products
• Principal Investigator: Ivaldo Pontes Jankowsky
• Grantee: Saly Takeshita
• Supervisor: Patrick Perré
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: École Centrale Paris, France
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/15581-6 - Stabilizing treatments application after conventional drying to reduce the potential hygroscopic of wood, BP.DR

Abstract

The performance of heat treatments using the temperature range from 90-120°C is still little studied, being a limitation to their development, because it is considered a temperature range that does not cause significant changes in wood structure. It is well known that the temperature affects the hygroscopicity and reduces the equilibrium moisture content of wood; however, the behavior of stabilizing treatment using temperature between 90-120°C is unclear. Thereby, the aim of this study is to characterize the physical properties and mass diffusivity of lumber submitted to stabilizing treatments. The selected hardwoods species were: Cedrinho (Erisma uncinatum Warm.), Tachi preto (Tachigali myrmecophyla (Ducke) Ducke) and Itaúba amarela (Mezilaurus itauba). Samples cut from three kiln dried boards of each species were submitted to stabilizing treatments, which consists of exposing the samples to temperatures of 90°C (24 hours) and 120°C (2 hours) in autoclave. After treatment, the samples will be prepared for analysis of the dynamic interaction between relative humidity, moisture content and shrinkage, as well as mass diffusivity, using new methodologies and specific devices. (AU)