Classification of Principal Wood Species in China Based on the Physiomechanical Properties

Many tree species are planted in China with variable properties and usage.Toward exploring the structure-properties relationships of wood and classifying the species more reasonably,the physiomechanical properties of the domestic wood species in China were analyzed statistically.According to the correlation analysis,the mechanical properties were closely related to the wood density.Except impact toughness and cleavage strength,the correlation coefficients between mechanical properties and densities were more than 0.8.However,shrinkage properties showed fewer correlations with densities,and the coefficient was no more than 0.7.Primary component analysis was proved to be feasible to explore the information of the physiomechanical properties.Two principal components(PC1 and PC2)could account for most of the information.PC1 and PC2 were designated as density-dominated and shrinkage-associated factors,respectively.The domestic wood species in China could be classified into 4 clusters based on their physiomechanical properties.According to the cluster results,reasonable grading was proposed for air-dried density,volume shrinkage,modulus of rupture,compression strength parallel to grain and hardness in cross section.The statistical results brought insights into analyzing the physiomechanical properties of domestic Chinese wood species,which was helpful for developing strategies of tree breeding and technologies of wood processing.

High Permeability of Boron along the Transverse Direction of Wood under High-Voltage Electrostatic Field (HVEF) Treatment

Permeability of wood preservative is one of the most significant factors for protection of wood construction.Ani-sotropic flow permeability was involved in different directions of wood with higher flow resistance in the trans-verse and lower longitudinal directions.In this study,boron acid solution was brushed onto the tangential section of air-dried wood cubes and boron penetration along wood transverse direction was investigated under free dif-fusion,vacuum and HVEF treatments.Multi-scale boron distribution,FTIR measurement,leaching property,mechanical properties and fungistatic characteristic were investigated for free diffusion,vacuum and HVEF trea-ted samples respectively.The results revealed that boron exhibited high permeability along the transverse direc-tion with the penetration depth of≈35 mm for HVEF treated samples and≈1 mm for free diffusion and vacuum treated samples.For HVEF treated samples,no significant decrease of hardness,compression modulus of elasti-city and strength were found in the treated samples.Better fungistatic characteristic was showcased in HVEF trea-ted samples exposed to white rot fungi.Thus,HVEF treatment has a positive effect on boron permeability and the improvement of penetration depth of preservatives hence playing a significant role in wood protection and prolonging the service life of wood construction.

Steam Exploded Peanut Shell Fiber as the Filler in the Rigid Polyurethane Foams

In this study,steam exploded peanut shell fibers(SE-PSFs)were utilized to fabricate with rigid polyurethane foam(RPUF)in order to improve sound absorption performance and hydrothermal weather resistance.Optimized method of SE treatment,RPUF preparation and flame retardant treatment were selected to prepare SE-PSF/RPUF composites in this experiment.Physical and mechanical properties including density,water absorption capacity,thickness swelling rate,compressive strength,thermal conductivity and average sound absorption coefficient of SE-PSF/RPUF were investigated and compared with the control(PRUF).The results showed that the density,water absorption capacity,thickness swelling rate and thermal conductivity showed an increasing trend with the increase of SE-PSFs content.The strength of the composite material showed a downward trend with the increase of the SE-PSFs content.The average sound absorption coefficient of the SE-PSFs/RPUF compared with PRUF significant increased,and the average sound absorption coefficient of the SE-PSFs/RPUF with SE-PSFs 40%was 0.47.The study getted the best ratio of flame retardants for 10%EG and 3%DMMP.The oxygen index was 35.56 vol%.