Effect of Pretreatments and Drying Methods on Abnormal Shrinkage of Wood

Collapse is an abnormal shrinkage resulting in uneven, rough surfaces and/or warping of sawn timber. The maximum abnormal shrinkages of the oak and persimmon specimens were obtained by the quasi-equilibrium drying and were compared with the other drying methods. The effect of steaming and freezing treatments on the shrinkage of wood was also investigated. The Quasi-equilibrium drying used in this study was proved as a good tool to make the maximum abnormal shrinkage of wood. The maximum abnormal volumetric shrinkage possibly caused by collapse could be 16.3% and 14.3% for the oak and persimmon specimens, respectively. In general the steaming-treated specimens shrank less than the controls for the oak specimens, but did more for the persimmon specimens. The volumetric shrinkages of the freezing-treated specimens were more various between the drying methods than those of the control and steaming-treated specimens.