Determination of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Toona ciliata and Acrocarpus fraxinifolius Woods from São Paulo State

Abstract

The use of wood in construction has many advantages, such as and the use of as speed of construction, high mechanical resistance, greater thermo-acoustic comfort, and sustainability with the use of reforestation wood. In Brazil, the main wood from planted forests are pine and eucalyptus, but other species are being planted in national soil such as Toona ciliata and Acrocarpus fraxinifolius. However, to use wood for structural purposes without compromising the safety of users, it is necessary to know the properties of wood. The aim of this work was to evaluate the physical-mechanical properties of Toona ciliata and Acrocarpus fraxinifolius. The properties evaluated were basic density, apparent density, shrinkage, strength, and modulus of elasticity in compression parallel to the fibers and tension strength perpendicular to the fibers, according to the test methods of the Brazilian standard ABNT NBR 7190:2022. Statistical analyses were performed using the t test at the 5% level of significance. Both woods have potential for structural use, with high mechanical properties and good dimensional stability, being like other woods already applied for this purpose. Acrocarpus fraxinifolius wood showed better mechanical properties than Toona ciliata due to its higher basic density. Australian cedar wood has been classified as D35 and Indian cedar wood has been classified as D70, due to its resistance to compression parallel to the fibers.