Strength and stiffness of radiata pine at elevated temperatures: a complete data set

ABSTRACT

Wood processing operations, such as timber drying, are increasingly employing high temperatures, and the development and optimisation of these operations is often reliant on modelling from experimental data. These model outputs are only accurate if the experimental data has been collected under similar conditions. In this research, the Modulus of Elasticity (MoE) and yield stress in compression and tension of two Pinus radiata trees are presented for a range of 6–30%MC between 20 and 150°C in the three grain directions. Results indicate that in all grain directions both MoE and yield stress decrease with increasing moisture content and increasing temperature, and this effect is more pronounced with the combination of high temperature and high moisture content. For both MoE and yield stress, differences were seen between testing in compression and in tension, and this relationship varied with grain direction and test conditions. This underscores the importance of accounting for the direction of applied forces when modelling the behaviour of wood. Overall, this data set indicates that yield stress and MoE can vary considerably according to temperature, moisture content, grain direction and the direction of the applied force.

KEYWORDS:

• Compressive stiffness
• high-temperature drying
• moisture content
• modulus of elasticity
• tensile stiffness
• wood processing

Acknowledgements

This data set represents a large amount of work by several people. The following people assisted greatly with developing and building the EPHT equipment as well as preparing samples: Ian McElroy, Steve Riley, Hamish Pearson and John Sole. The following people provided input and advice into the manuscript preparation: Steve Riley, Doug Gaunt, Roger Hellens, Marie Joo Le Guen, Alan Dickson.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availablilty statement

Values of MoE and Yield stress for each specimen tested, along with additional metadata can be downloaded from Figshare https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12126882.v1. Average values of MoE and Yield stress for each condition are available in the online supplementary data.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The New Zealand Foundation of Research Science and Technology; under grant number C04X0205; Forest and Wood Products Australia; under Project title: Mechano-sorptive and creep relationships for plantation softwoods in drying environments.