Haptic and Aesthetic Properties of Heat-Treated Modified Birch Wood

This paper deals with the effect of heat treatment on the selected physical properties of birch wood. Five stages of heat treatment were used, ranging from 160 °C to 200 °C, in 10 °C increments, having a peak treatment duration of 3 h for each level. Primarily, changes in thermal characteristics, namely conductivity, diffusivity, effusivity, volume heat capacity, changes in colour and gloss parameters, mass loss due to modification and different moisture content in wood under given equilibrium climatic conditions, were monitored. The ISOMET 2114 analyser was used to measure the thermal characteristics. The measurement principle of this analyser is based on the analysis of the thermal response of the analysed material to pulses of heat flow. Measurements of colour, gloss, density and moisture content were carried out according to harmonised EN standards. The aim was to experimentally verify the more or less generally known more positive perception of heat-treated wood, both by touch and sight, i.e., the warmer perception of darker brown shades of wood. In terms of thermal characteristics, the most interesting result is that they gradually decrease with increasing treatment temperature. For example, at the highest treatment temperature of 200 °C, there is a decrease in thermal conductivity by 20.2%, a decrease in volume heat capacity by 15.0%, and a decrease in effusivity by 17.7%. The decrease in thermal conductivity is nearly constant at all treatment levels, specifically at this treatment temperature, by 6.0%. The fact mentioned above is positive in terms of the tactile perception of such treated wood, which can have a positive effect, for example, in furniture with surface application of heat-treated veneers, which are perceived positively by the majority of the human population visually or as a cladding material in saunas. In this context, it has been found that the thermal modification at the above-mentioned treatment temperature of 200 °C results in a decrease in brightness by 44.0%, a decrease in total colour difference by 38.4%, and a decrease in gloss (at an angle of 60°) by 18.2%. The decrease in gloss is only one essential negative aspect that can be addressed by subsequent surface treatment. During the heat treatment, there is also a loss of mass in volume, e.g., at a treatment temperature of 200 °C and subsequent conditioning to an equilibrium moisture content in a conditioning chamber with an air temperature of 20 ± 2 °C and relative humidity of 65 % ± 5%, there was a decrease by 7.9%. In conclusion, the experiments clearly confirmed the hypothesis of a positive perception of heat-treated wood in terms of haptics and aesthetics