An investigation of surface properties of thermally modified wood during natural weathering for 48 months

Abstract

Weathering period and exposure conditions can affect the degradation rate of wood surfaces. Longer weathering exposure periods are more reliable for end-use performance evaluations, and therefore it is desirable to investigate the role of long exposure periods on wood properties. This study aimed to investigate the effect of thermal modification on surface composition, roughness and color of ash, iroko, Scots pine and spruce wood species during natural weathering in East Black Sea Region of Turkey for 48 months. All measurements were performed at 6 month intervals. Regarding the results, surface roughness increased as the weathering period increased. Surface quality and color stability of the samples were enhanced with the thermal modification for all wood species, and those properties were much better for hardwoods than softwoods. FTIR data showed that changes in surface composition of thermally modified and unmodified wood were so high even at the first weathering exposure period. Thus, thermal modification may not be an effective protection method in long term outdoor conditions if the surface appearance and color stability is required.