THE EFFECTS OF DYNAMIC COMPRESSION ON THE THERMAL PROPERTIES OF SELECTED WOOD PRODUCTS OF DIFFERENT PARTICLE SIZES

Abstract

The study examines the effects of dynamic compression on the thermal behaviour of five different wood species of the families of Sterculiaceae, Moraceae and Ulmaceae. These species are; Nesogordonia papaverifera, Milicia excelsa, Antiaris africana, Celtis zenkeri and Celtis phillipensis. The results showed that, the increase in the compacting pressure resulted to increase in the thermal conductivity of the wood samples. It was also noted that, the thermal conductivity decreases with increase in particle sizes of the wood materials. The thermal conductivity values obtained for the samples fall within the range of conductivity (0.0890 - 0.1534 11WmK ) for wood materials. This range lies within the thermal conductivity values of commonly used materials in Asbestos, Rubber, Diatomite and Chlorinated Poly- ether. In addition, 850 μm of Nesogordonia papaverifera (Danta) pose the best insulation among the particle sizes considered. Hence, the selected wood materials could be used as industrial insulators as their thermal conductivity values fall within the range of existing industrial thermal insulators. The materials could also serve as good potential devices as heat resistant. The specific heat capacity of the wood sample fluctuates between minimum and maximum value within the range of compacting pressure, except for Antiaris africana (oriro) of 300 μm particle size which decrease with increase in compacting pressure. The thermal diffusivity of the wood sample has no defined trend, although the values change as the compacting pressure increased.