Artificial weathering of tropical woods. Part 1: Changes in wettability

Abstract Changes in the wettability of eight species of tropical woods during artificial weathering up to 600 h are discussed from the aspect of chemical and structural changes in their surfaces: Amnurana acreana , Acacia auriculiformis , Dipterocarpus spp., Eucalyptus marginata , Eucalyptus robusta , Shorea spp., and Tabebuia spp. with relatively high and low specific gravity. On the whole, the wettability of specimens decreased upon irradiation up to 20 h; above that they increased. Changes in wettability during artificial weathering differed according to wood species. The IR spectra suggest that the specimen surfaces after irradiation for 600 h result in a cellulose-rich layer, and therefore the increase in wettability during artificial weathering can be explained in terms of the increase in hydroxyl groups originating from both the exposed cellulose and adsorbed water. However, the difference in wettability exists between species even after the surface develops a cellulose-rich layer. The stereoscopic micrographs showed the development of cracks for all of the specimens after irradiation for 600 h, and differences in their magnitudes according to species. From these results, the differences in wettability between species were estimated to be due to the structural changes on the surface during artificial weathering, whereas the increase in wettability was due to the chemical changes.