Effects of Heat Treatment under Vacuum on Properties of Poplar

Abstract

The influences of heat treatment under vacuum on the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of untreated poplar wood were investigated in this study. Wood samples were heated in a vacuum atmosphere in laboratory conditions at 140 to 200 °C for 1 to 3 h. The color of the poplar’s surface after heat treatment was deeper than that of the untreated wood, and the dimensional stability of poplar was improved by increasing the temperature and time. However, the compressive strength parallel to the grain of heat-treated samples was slightly lower than that of the control samples. The modulus of rupture of samples heat-treated at 200 °C for 3 h decreased 41.25% compared with the untreated samples. The corrosion resistance of heat-treated poplar increased with increasing temperature and time. The white-rot fungus resistance of the treated poplar was better than its resistance to brown-rot fungus.

Keywords

• Physical properties
• I-69 Poplar
• Mechanical properties
• Vacuum heat treatment
• Corrosion properties