An Experimental Study to Assess the Effect of Water on Hardwood and Softwood

Abstract

Abstract Wood, either soft or hardwood, like other materials of plant origin, is inherently susceptible to deterioration factors, e.g., temperature and humidity. Due to its chemical structure, such susceptibility is pronounced when submerging wood in water, The present study examines the effect of water immersion on cedar (softwood) and sycamore (hardwood) over a specific period, focusing on changes in color, mechanical properties, mass gain, density, surface roughness, and fiber separation, along with the anatomical structure using the scanning electron microscope (SEM), changes in chemical composition in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), The results demonstrated that both hardwood and softwood were affected by water immersion to varying degrees, The mechanical properties and resistance were higher for sycamore than cedar. Compression for sycamore improved by 37.5% and cedar by 17.8%. Bending improved by 69.8% for sycamore and 50.9% for cedar. While the rate of color change for cedar was higher than that of sycamore, as cedar recorded (ΔE ≥ 39.25), while sycamore recorded (ΔE ≥ 36.72). The sycamore also recorded an increase in mass by 206.70%, and density by 0.85%.While cedar wood recorded 65.14% by mass and 0.95% by density. . FT-IR showed the disappearance of the C=O bond of the samples after immersion, and oscillation occurred in the C-H bond with increase in the OH absorption group, indicating that the cellulose was affected by the immersion process. SEM examination shows swelling and corrosion of the inner walls of the wood.