Solid wood bending of Eucalyptus grandis wood plasticized by steam and boiling

Wood bending has been used for centuries in the manufacturing not only of large objects, such as boat structures, but also small objects, like musical instruments. Despite a large number of studies on bending, process improvements and inclusion of low added-value timber are still insufficient. Hence, this study proposes a bent wood analysis of Eucalyptus grandis treated with different steam and boiling exposure times. We analysed the number of failure types per sample (N.of f), moisture content variation in the treatments (∆Tu), end pressure (Pe) and spring back (Pf). The variables showed significant differences between steaming and boiling, except for N.of f. Different treatment times did not show significant effects. We conclude that Eucalyptus grandis timber is suitable for bending at smaller radius than the one adopted in this study. Furthermore, steaming is better than boiling due to its higher qualification parameters.

Wood bending; Wood treatment; Wood quality