SHEAR STRENGTH IN FRICTION WELDED JOINT OF POPLAR WOOD IMPREGNATED WITH COPPER-BASED WOOD PRESERVATIVE

Environmentally friendly processes are of great interest and considerably needed due to the worldwide problem of pollution. Linear vibration welding of timber structural elements provides new opportunities to potentially achieve structural joints. Mechanically induced vibrational wood fusion welding is shown to be due mostly to the melting and flowing of some amorphous, cells-interconnecting polymer material in the structure of wood, mainly lignin, but also hemicelluloses. In this study, poplar (Populus euramericana) samples were impregnated with alkaline copper quat (ACQ) in order to enhance welding performance. Chemical changes of the impregnated and welded specimens were characterized by FT-IR techniques. A decrease in the proportion of unoxidized phenolic groups in the lignin was observed by FT-IR and the decreased joint strength observed is impregnated wood. After impregnation, shear strength decreased by 37 % to 54%. The X-ray CT-scanning results revealed that the average density of the poplar wood (368 kg/m(3)) increased to 710 kg/m(3) by welding.