A multi-cycle Wilhelmy plate method has been developed to investigate liquid sorption, swelling and dimensional stability of wood samples. The application of this technique is exemplified by evaluation of wood veneers of Scots pine sapwood and heartwood in swelling liquid, water, and non-swelling liquid, octane. The swelling liquid changes the dimension of the sample during measurement, and particularly the wetted perimeter is affected. A model based on a linear combination of the measured wetting force and final change in sample perimeter is suggested to evaluate the dynamic perimeter change of wood veneer samples. The results confirmed that this model can be applied to study dynamic perimeter change of wood veneers. In general, pine heartwood was found more water repellant and dimensional stable than pine sapwood with a higher water contact angle and less water contamination during the measurement.
Keywords: Wilhelmy plate method, wettability, sorption, dimensional stability
Authors
Sedighi M.
SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden – Chemistry, Materials and Surfaces
Wålinder M.
Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Building Materials, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
Claesson P. M.
Department of Chemistry, Surface and Corrosion Science, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
Swerin A.
CRITTbois, France
Login to download the PDF