Micromechanical characterisation of compression wood

In this paper are reported the results of a study carried out with the aim of characterizing the mechanical behavior of Compression wood. Tests were performed on micro-samples containing only portion of CW or normal wood that, within the growth rings, have been extracted separately from both early and late wood. After micro-mechanical tests the residual portions of the specimens have been studied at anatomical level in order to assess the presence and the severity of CW, and for measuring the average MFA. Results have shown the dependence of tensile strength of CW from MFA, and the scarce effectiveness of the wooden color to forecasting the presence and or the severity classes of CW.