Abstract

Mechanical behaviours of wood before and after heat-treatment. Part 1: Properties in compression of beech and of poplar

Author(s): Moulay Ismail Sabouk, Mathieu P�?�?�?�?�?�?�?©trissans, Patrice Berthod

Wood is sensitive to biologic attacks and this vulnerability may require heat-treatment to improve its biologic resistance. This operation is not neutral for the physical properties of wood but also for itsmechanical behaviour. In this work two wood species, beech and poplar, were characterized in compression at room temperature to study the effect of heat-treatment on the compression properties, by comparison to the not heat-treated state. It was found that heat-treating beech and poplar led to the enhancement of stiffness and an improvement of the compression resistance, in both cases. The YoungÂ’s modulus as well as the ultimate compression strength were significantly increased.