Articles containing the keyword 'stem wood'

Shrinking of timber when drying is a phenomenon that causes variation in measuring of timber in timber trade and on using the timber for construction or other purposes.   

The data for the article consists of 332 increment core samples from pine trees different ages, sizes and growth rate. There were collected in years 1910-1912 in Finnish Lapland, regions Utsjoki and Inari. The increment cores were collected on the height of 1.3 meters in south-north direction straight crosswise through the whole tree. The samples are 6mm thick. The diameter of the samples was measured immediately after making the sample and after several years’ storage in room temperatures. Also the age of the trees was determined.

The results are presented in tables. The degree of shrinkage varies heavily between the samples but stays anyhow between 1.5 and 3.9%. The mean degree of shrinkage for 314 samples was 2.9%. The results seem to indicate that the bigger the shrinkage the denser the annual growth ring system of the tree, meaning the slower the growth has been.  The older and of diameter bigger trees shrink less than younger and smaller trees. 

• Renvall, E-mail: ar@mm.unknown

The primary aim of this study was to clarify the chipping productivity and fuel consumption of tractor-powered and truck-mounted drum chippers when chipping pine pulpwood at a terminal. The secondary aim was to evaluate the impact of wood storage time on the chemical and physical technical specifications of wood chips by chipping pulpwood from eight different storage time groups, using Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) pulpwood stems logged between 2 and 21 months previously at the terminal with the above-mentioned chippers. Thirdly, the impact of sieve mesh size on the particle size distribution of wood chips from different age groups was compared by using an 80 mm × 80 mm sieve for a tractor-powered chipper and a 100 mm × 100 mm sieve for a truck-mounted chipper. With both chippers, the chipping productivity grew as a function of grapple load weight. The average chipping productivity of the tractor-powered chipper unit was 19 508 kg (dry mass) per effective hour (E₀h), and for the truck-mounted chipper the average productivity was 31 184 kg E₀h^–1. The tractor-powered drum chipper’s fuel consumption was 3.1 litres and for the truck-mounted chipper 3.3 litres per chipped 1000 kg (dry mass). The amount of extractives or volatiles did not demonstrate any statistically significant differences between storage time groups. The particle size distributions with both chippers were quite uniform, and the storage time of pulpwood did not have a significant effect on the particle size distribution in any chip size classes. One reason for this might be that the basic density of chipped wood was homogenous and there was no statistical difference between different storage times. The use of new sharp knives is likely to have affected chip quality, as witnessed by the absence of oversized particles and the moderate presence of fines. The use of narrower 80 mm × 80 mm sieves on Scots pine material does not seem to offer any benefit compared to 100 mm × 100 mm from the chip quality point of view.

• Laitila, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Bio-based business and industry, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: juha.laitila@luke.fi
• Routa, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Bio-based business and industry, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: johanna.routa@luke.fi