Artificial Weathering of Contact-Charred Wood—The Effect of Modification Duration, Wood Species and Material Density

Maija Kymäläinen*, Tinh Sjökvist, Jakub Dömény, Lauri Rautkari

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)
97 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

A relevant issue with charred exteriors is the inconsistency of the result, which makes service life predictions complicated. Contact charring enables the creation of a very evenly modified surface with accurate control of temperature and modification time, but the weathering properties are questionable. This paper evaluated the effect of the modification time relative to char layer and transition zone thickness, wood species and material density in an artificial weathering test. The results revealed higher color stability in connection to longer modification time, but also an increase in the cracked surface area. Cracking was heavily dependent on the modification regime and increased with increasing char and transition zone thicknesses. Dense spruce had the highest color stability with the most severe modification regime, but char layer thickness varied more than on other wood types. Furthermore, species-dependent cracking patterns affected the final result as the small-scale flaking experienced by birch increased the washing off of char. It is likely an even higher modification temperature with a shorter modification time is needed to produce sufficient weathering resistance suitable for exterior uses.

Original languageEnglish
Article number3951
Pages (from-to)1-15
Number of pages15
JournalMaterials
Volume15
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2022
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • artificial weathering
  • carbonization
  • contact charring
  • surface modification
  • wood
  • wood modification

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