Kurz-Originalia á Brief Originals Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff 58 (2000) 315±316 Ó Springer-Verlag 2000

Compatibility of 8 temperate Australian Eucalyptus species

with Portland cement

315
K. E. Semple, P. D. Evans (&) Methods and materials Wood from 8 species of Eucalyptus:
Department of Forestry, The Australian National University, E. globulus ssp. bicostata, E. smithii, E. nitens, E. viminalis,
Canberra, 0200, Australia E. macarthurii, E. benthamii, E. badgensis and E. kartzof®ana
was sampled from two different sites; Kowen and Uriarra, near
R. B. Cunningham Canberra, Australia. The trees were 15 years old and at each
Statistical Consulting Unit, The Australian National University, site, 6 trees per species were sampled. From each tree a disk,
Canberra, 0200, Australia approximately 1.5 cm in thickness, was cut from breast height
(1.3 m). Disks were air-dried, proportion of sapwood deter-
Subject Few of the over 800 species of Eucalyptus have been mined and two 1.5 cm wedges cut from opposite sides of the
screened for their compatibility with Portland cement and disk. The wedges were sliced tangentially into slivers 0.5 cm in
suitability for the manufacture of wood-cement composites. The thickness, conditioned to 12% MC and 5 g of slivers tested for
compatibility with Portland cement of 8 temperate species of compatibility with Portland cement, expressed using hydration
Eucalyptus native to SE Australia was measured, and the effects of rate (R, C/h; Sandermann and Kohler 1964). The effect of water
sapwood content and of extractive removal on wood-cement soaking (23 °C for 24 h) on wood-cement compatibility was
compatibility were assessed. also assessed. Statistical analysis used a general linear mixed

Fig. 1a-d. a Hydration rate (°C/h) for

unsoaked wood by species; b effect of
soaking on compatibility; c site x soaking
interaction on compatibility; and
d average % sapwood content by species
and site
 model with species and soaking as ®xed effects, and random
effects arising from sites, plots and trees. Variance components
analysis was used to assess interactive effects of site and %
sapwood on the compatibility of the species with cement.
Signi®cant results are presented graphically and an error bar
(Least Signi®cant Difference, LSD) is included on each graph to
facilitate comparison of means.
Results 1. The wood of all 8 species of Eucalyptus reduced the
normal hydration rate of Portland cement, but there were
signi®cant (p ˆ 0.004) differences between species (Fig. 1a).
E. badgensis and E. smithii had the highest compatibility
316 (R ˆ 1.27 and 1.19 °C/h respectively) whereas E. macarthurii and
E. benthamii had the lowest compatibility (R ˆ 0.88 and 1.01 °C/h
respectively).
2. Soaking of the eucalypt wood in water at ambient tempera-
ture signi®cantly (p < 0.001) improved wood-cement compati-
bility (Fig. 1b) by removing most of the extraneous substances
responsible for inhibiting cement hydration.
3. Wood from Kowen was signi®cantly lower (p < 0.001) in
average compatibility than that from Uriarra (Fig. 1c) possibly
because it contained a greater proportion of sapwood (Fig. 1d)
which contains polysaccharides and phenolic extractives that
inhibit the hydration of Portland cement (Fischer et al. 1974).
Some phenolic extractives are insoluble in cold water, perhaps
accounting for the slightly reduced compatibility of wood from
Kowen even after soaking (Fig. 1c).
References
Sandermann W, Kohler R (1964) Holzforschung 18: 53±59
Fischer F, Weinhaus O, Ryssel M, Olbrecht J (1974) Holztech-
nologie 15: 12±19