Fast-growing poplar wood has the bottleneck problems of inferior mechanical strength and poor dimensional stability. In this study, the wood was modified by combined treatments of pre-compression and post-vacuum-thermo modification to improve its mechanical strength and dimensional stability, simultaneously; in addition, the variation law of mechanical properties of the wood with compression ratio as well as the improvement effect of dimensional stability of the treated wood were mainly studied. The results show that the optimal temperature and time of the vacuum-thermo modification were 190 °C and 10 h, respectively. Under these conditions, the structure of pre-compressed and post-vacuum-thermally modified wood (CT wood) is gradually densified with the increase in the compression ratio, which results in the continuous enhancement of mechanical properties. Meanwhile, the anti-swelling efficiency (ASE) of the CT wood after water absorption is correspondingly better than that of the compressed wood before thermal modification, indicating that the dimensional stability of compressed wood was improved by the thermal modification. When the compression ratio was 70%, the modulus of rupture (MOR) and impact toughness of CT wood was 176 MPa and 63 KJ/m2, which was 125% and 59% higher than that of untreated wood, respectively. The ASE was also 26% higher than that of the wood with sole compression. Therefore, this method improves the mechanical strength and dimensional stability of wood simultaneously, and it provides a scientific basis for optimization of the reinforcing modification process of fast-growing wood.
Keywords: compression; dimensional stability; mechanical properties; poplar wood; vacuum-thermo treatment.