Effects of drying treatments on the dimensions of wood fibres

Determination of the effects of wood quality on pulp and paper properties requires, inter alia, precise characterisation of fibre dimensions in the wood and the changes in those dimensions during processing. A series of experiments is reported on the dimensional changes of eucalypts on drying from water and other solvents. Various pre-drying treatments on both wood blocks and thin transverse wood sections were undertaken to determine the effects of shrinkage on external block dimensions, cross-sectional dimensions and wood density. Selected dried blocks were reconditioned to assess the reversibility of shrinkage from different treatment processes. Data is also presented on the conditioning of wood cores prior to drying. These results are discussed with reference to the impact on sample preparation for SilviScan-2.