The influence of heat and chemical treatments of beech wood on the shear strength of welded and UF bonded specimens
Abstract
The objective of this study was to improve resistance of wood joints to higher humidity by means of heat or chemical treatment of beech wood prior to either welding or bonding with a UF adhesive. It was found that welded control and heat-treated wood had shear strengths of 8.6 and 8.8 N mm(-2), respectively, whereas the specimens treated with citric acid had shear strengths of 6.6 and 9.9 N mm(-2), respectively. However, this was lower than the shear strength of the UF bonded control and heat-treated wood (14.3 and 11.9 N mm(-2), respectively).