title: Potential of ultrasonic pulse velocity for evaluating the dimensional stability of oak and chestnut wood.
abstract: The objective of this study was to examine the potential of ultrasonic velocity as a rapid and nondestructive method to predict the dimensional stability of oak (Quercus petraea (Mattuschka) Lieblein) and chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) that are commonly used in flooring industry. Ultrasonic velocity, specific gravity, and radial, tangential and volumetric shrinkages were measured on seventy-four 20×20×30-mm(3) specimens obtained from freshly cut oak and chestnut stems. The ultrasonic velocities of the specimens decreased with increasing moisture content (MC). We found that specific gravity was not a good predictor of the transverse shrinkages as indicated by relatively weak correlations. Ultrasonic velocity, on the other hand, was found to be a significant predictor of the transverse shrinkages for both oak and chestnut. The best results for prediction of shrinkages of oak and chestnut were obtained when the ultrasonic velocity and specific gravity were used together. The multiple regression models we developed in this study explained 77% of volumetric shrinkages in oak and 72% of volumetric shrinkages in chestnut. It is concluded that ultrasonic velocity coupled with specific gravity can be employed as predicting parameters to evaluate the dimensional stability of oak and chestnut wood during manufacturing process.
authors.affiliation: Istanbul University, Faculty of Forestry, Bahcekoy, Sariyer, 34473 Istanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: dundar@istanbul.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Türker
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dündar
authors.affiliation: USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, One Gifford Pinchot Drive, Madison 53726-2398, WI, United States. Electronic address: xwang@fs.fed.us.
authors.forename: Xiping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Istanbul University, Faculty of Forestry, Bahcekoy, Sariyer, 34473 Istanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: nusretas@istanbul.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Nusret
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: As
authors.affiliation: Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Faculty of Technology, Kötekli, 48000 Muğla, Turkey. Electronic address: erkanavci@mu.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Erkan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Avcı
mesh_terms: D029785:Cyperaceae; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D029963:Quercus; D013046:Specific Gravity; D014465:Ultrasonics; D014934:Wood
keywords: Dimensional stability; Shrinkage; Specific gravity; Ultrasonic velocity; Wood