THE DENSITY AND SHRINKAGE BEHAVIOR OF Eucalyptus grandis WOOD SUBMITTED TO DIFERENT TEMPERATURES OF THERMORETIFICATION

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José Otávio Brito
José Nivaldo Garcia
Geraldo Bortoletto Júnior
Antonio Maria das Chagas Pessoa
Paulo H. Müller da Silva

Abstract

This research deals with the evaluation of the behavior of thermorectificated wood of Eucalyptus grandis, in relation its density and shrinkage. To evaluate these aspects, it was used a totally random experimental outline, with 5 treatments (A – wood thermorectificated (wt) at 120 ºC; B wt at 140 ºC; C wt at 160 ºC;D wt at 180 ºC; E- wt at 200 ºC) and 30 replications. The results indicated that, in statistical terms, the density of wood thermally treated is not different from that obtained from natural wood. The thermoretification process, only when the temperature of 200ºC was used, influenced wood shrinkage significantly. The result was 25 % smaller than the observed in the natural wood. Considering the specific conditions of the study, the results indicated as positive the application of thermoretification process to E. grandis wood.

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