JAUE2022-011: Potential Research on Compressed Wood using Japanese Cedar: Comparison of Single Log Compression and Small Piece Compression

Abstract

Currently, Japanese forest reserves, especially the planted forests are increasing significantly, which causes lots of problems and the solutions are urgently needed. Due to the low competitive price and higher strength of imported wood, Japanese wood market is heavily dependent on imported wood rather than domestic wood. Therefore, how to reduce the price and increase the strength of Japanese wood owns practical and academic implications. In this study, we examined the effects of compression testing through conducting compression and bending fracture tests on two types of compressed woods. One is log compressed wood by compressing single cedar logs as they are. Another is small piece compressed wood made from small pieces cut from cedar planks, compressed and glued together. The experimental results show that the yield of compression wood and the design quality of the wood were both improved. Compared with normal logs, the comparative measurements in both longitudinal compression and bending tests show that the strength and toughness of the compressed wood are significantly improved. All of these findings demonstrate that there are huge potentials for compressed wood to be used in building construction.