Effects of medium-low temperature hydrothermal treatment on microstructure and dimensional stability of chinese sweetgum wood
To investigate the changes of microstructure and dimensional stability during hydrothermal treatment, the Chinese sweetgum (Liquidambar formosana Hance) wood samples were treated in a numerical show constant temperature water bath with temperature of 60, 80 and 100°C for 4 h. The dry shrinkage rate and water absorption of untreated and treated samples were measured. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was selected to observe and investigate the changes of wood microstructure, which caused by hydrothermal treatment. The results showed that dry shrinkage rate increased from 4.92% to 7.00% and 9.62% to 10.12% in tangential direction and radial direction, respectively. However, the shrinkage rate difference (SRD) as an index to evaluate possibility of wood deformation, decreased from 1.96 to 1.45, which meant the shape stability of treated samples improved. The water absorption increased from 93.15% to 112.11%. From the results of SEM, the most sediment on aspirated pits were removed and pit membrane was ruptured after treatment. It had positive effect on moisture migration and wood permeability. It is maybe the reason of the variation of water absorption and dry shrinkage rate.