| Abstract: | Thin strips of pine, Pinus sylvestris, and lime, Tilia vulgaris, were acetylated with acetic anhydride to various levels of acetyl weight gains. Increase in thickness, due to the bulking effect of acetylation, and increase in equilibrium moisture content at 65% relative humidity were determined. Equilibrium moisture content decreased as the degree of acetylation increased for both pine and lime. Finite span tensile strength was determined on thin control and acetylated pine and lime strips. No significant loss of tensile strength was found in either species due to acetylation. Total work expended in fracturing the specimens (work-to-failure) was slightly decreased for acetylated pine but remained essentially unchanged for acetylated lime as compared to controls. This indicates that the toughness of the material is only slightly reduced by the acetylation process. |
