Study on attenuation, modulus of elasticity and nonlinearity in thermowood using ultrasound

We determined ultrasonically the attenuation, modulus of elasticity (MOE), and nonlinearity parameter (B/A) of dry defect-free thermally modified wood samples ("thick" 10 × 50 × 100 mm3 and "thin" 2 × 40 × 150 mm3) of Finnish pine, Pinus Sylvestris, as a function of treatment temperature (60-240 °C, three hours in protective water steam). The samples were cut as radial-tangential (RT) planes, and as longitudinal-radial (LR) planes. Two distinct regions of change in mechanical parameters were seen: one around 140 C where both the linear and nonlinear parameters increased and one around 230 C where the mechanical parameters decreased. These treatment temperatures thus serves as candidates for quality class delimiters for these soft wood samples.