WTV 307: WOOD

MODIFICATION
DEPARTMENT OF FOREST ENGINEERING
AND WOOD SCIENCES (DFEWS).
INSTRUCTORs : Prof. F.B.S MAKONDA.
Mr. M. J MWETA.
 CONSULTATION.

: Office nearby CFWT- REPRINT

ROOM (Room 04)

:[email protected]

: +255 699 820 338

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
q Upon completion of this course you should be able to:
a)Explain different concepts and key terminologies used in wood
modification.
b)Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of bending and
joining wood, wood joints, adhesives and coatings
c) Apply knowledge acquired to design and manufacture different
wooden structures.
d)Apply knowledge acquired to evaluate wood modification and
joining in relation to their properties.

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 COURSE OUTLINE
PART I: Bending of wood

PART II: Protection of wood against fire

PART III: Dimensional stabilisation of wood

PART IV: Degradation of wood by chemicals

PART V: Densification of wood

PART VI: Weathering of wood

PART
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VIII: Joining of Wood 4
READING LIST
qKlem, G.S. 1984. Revised by S. Iddi (1996). Wood-Based Materials. Vol. I.
Modifying and Joining of Solid Wood. A Teaching compendium. Faculty of Forestry
and Nature Conservation, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.

qKlem, G.S. (1984), Revised by Iddi, S. 1996. Wood Science. A Teaching

compendium. Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Sokoine University of
Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.

qFengel, D. and Wegener, G. (1989). Wood: Chemistry Ultrastructure Reactions.

2nd Edition. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin&NewYork.

qPanshin, A.J. and De Zeeuw, C. (1970). Textbook of wood technology, Vol. 1

structure, identification, uses, and properties of the commercial woods of the
United States and Canada. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York

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 COURSE
ASSESSMENT
ü Tests and assignments
shall carry 30% of the
total marks
ü Practical reports/Quizzes
(if any) carry 10%
ü End of course
examination shall carry
60% of the total marks

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 CHAPTER I

BENDING
OF WOOD.

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 Wood modification
Wood modification is a generic term describing the
application of chemical, physical, or biological methods
to alter the properties of the material.

The aim is to get better performance from the wood,

resulting in improvements in dimensional stability, decay
resistance, and weathering resistance.

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 Wood is an organic material
classified as a natural
Cont.… lignocellulosic polymer that has
been used as a building
material for centuries.
Wood has many advantages,
such as workability, excellent
mechanical performances
versus mass, corrosion
resistance, and an aesthetic
appeal.
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 qBiodegradable

Limitations of qCombustible
wood qShrinks and swells with changes in moisture changes
(movement)

qSubject to degradation by chemicals

qSubject to weathering

qHas low density (low compressive strength and

hardness)

qShape

qSize

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 Why Wood Modification?
Need for modifying and joining of wood
Desirable qualities of wood
(i)High strength in relation to its weight
(ii)Easy to machine into required dimensions and shapes
(iii)Easy to join with mechanical fasteners (nails, screws, bolts,
etc.) and glues
(iv)Has low thermal and electrical conductivity (for dry wood)
(v)Has a pleasing appearance
(vi)Competes well with alternative construction materials
•

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Cont…

• Modifying and joining are, therefore, necessary

in order to change these limitations and make
wood suitable for certain uses.

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 BENDING OF WOOD

Curved wooden members can be obtained

(i)From stems with natural crooks or stem-branch

combinations where the angle of the branch to the
stem gives the desired curvature.

(ii)By sawing curved members from a straight plank

(iii)By bending a straight piece of wood

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 From stems with natural crooks or stem-
STEMS WITH branch combinations where the angle of the
NATURAL CROOKS branch to the stem gives the desired
curvature
Advantage.
• High strength.
Disadvantage:
• Expensive to obtain on a Large scale.

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 SAWING CURVED By sawing curved members
MEMBERS FROM A from a straight plank
STRAIGHT PLANK
Advantage
Relatively cheaply but will
have
Disadvantages.
low strength properties since
the fibre direction in part of
the member will be at an
angle to the long axis of the
member.

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 BENDING A
STRAIGHT PIECE OF This is most used nowadays as
they guarantee due to its ability
WOOD to provide large quantities of a
wooden member.

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 Bending offers the following advantages;
(i)No loss through processing waste
ADVANTAGES (ii)Shaping is simpler and quicker than using
OF BENDING. usual woodworking machines
(iii)I n v e s t m e n t i n b e n d i n g m a c h i n e s i s
comparatively low
(iv)Power consumption in bending is low
(v)Bent parts have higher strength than those
shaped by eg sawing
(vi)The surfaces of properly bent parts are
smoother than those of sawn parts
(vii)In the manufacture of sporting goods,
crooks for umbrellas and walking sticks,
bending is the only economical technique
(viii)Bentwood is aesthetically pleasing
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 qBending compresses the concave half while
BENDING stretching the convex surface
STRESSES
qThus, the convex side is under tension and
the concave under compression. If the
stresses are allowed to develop too far, the
wood will break
qSuccessful bending ensures that the wood
does not reach a breaking point and at the
same time achieves a permanent
deformation of the wood so as to avoid
spring back ie the wood straightens after
bending stresses are removed
qThe degree to which wood can be bent
without fracturing depends upon its
elasticity
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 • Elasticity can be increased by
(i)Increasing moisture content (modulus
of elasticity of pine wood for example
decreases by about 50% if the
ELASTICITY moisture content is raised from 12% to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkLbufh fibre saturation point)
D2Rk (ii)Increasing temperature (the modulus
of elasticity will also decrease
substantially with increasing
temperature to about 160 0 C at which
point wood starts to decompose. To
avoid this, steam is used; boiling wood
in water imparts the same effect)
(iii)Plasticizing with chemicals (urea,
phenol-formaldehyde resin and liquid
ammonia).

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 qAny inherent weakness in the wood such as
knots, irregular fibres, ingrown bark, and
cracks will all facilitate fractures when the
EFFECT OF DEFECTS wood is bent.
qPlasticized wood can withstand only limited
t e ns i o n b u t c o n s i d e ra b l e c o m p r e s s i o n
without fracturing.
qTo avoid springing back during bending, the
moist and hot wood must be kept restrained
until it has cooled and reached a moisture
content suitable for its use.
qMost curved members are today produced
as laminated wood where bend ing and
glueing are done in a Single Operation

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 qS o f t w o o d s a r e n o t a s s u i t a b l e a s
hardwoods probably due to rapid
EFFECT OF SPECIES changes in mechanical properties
between earlywood and latewood

qThe lignin in hardwood is more plastic

and solvent-soluble than that in
softwoods

qFraxinus Fagus and Quercus species

bend very well followed by Eucalyptus
and then Tectona grandis and Khaya
anthotheca

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 By bui ld ing up the desi red thi ckne ss fro m a
number of thin boards, the following advantages
are obtained
Cont… (i) Bending thin boards requires less force and
inflicts only moderate deformation of the wood
so that pret rea tm ent of t he wo od m ay be
unnecessary and only little strength loss occurs
(ii)Curves can be sharper than what is possible if
the member is made from one thick plank
(iii)A laminated member is more dimensionally
stable than a member made from a single piece
(iv)Curved members can be made to almost any
length by end joining the laminations in a
staggering fashion

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Cont…
qPlywood can also be bent simultaneously with gluing or it can
be bent after it has been glued. Bending and gluing in one
operation has the same advantages as mentioned before for
laminated wood

qWhen plywood has to be bent after gluing, it must be

plasticized.

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