Density and dynamic modulus of three mexican woods impregnated with boron. Evaluation with transverse vibrations

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of boron salts on the physical-mechanical properties of wood. For this, forty specimens of Spathodea campanulata, Fraxinus americana and Albizia plurijuga were treated using the hot-cold bath method in three groups with concentrations of 1 %, 2 %, 3 %, plus a control group. Before and after the treatment, the densities of the wood, the moisture content, its retentions were calculated and its dynamic modules were determined with transverse vibrations. Retention values increased proportionally to the concentration of boron salts used, but decreased as the densities of each species varied. The treatment in small specimens did not alter the densities of the wood. In contrast, the treatment did modify the dynamic modules determined with transverse vibrations. The paradigm in wood sciences that proposes the characterization of the mechanical behavior of each particular species was confirmed. The experiences were carried out in the Wood Mechanics Laboratory of the Faculty of Engineering in Wood Technology of the Michoacana University of San Nicolás de Hidalgo, in Morelia, Mexico