Birch is a tree actively used in the furniture industry. The secret of the popularity of such material is not even in the technical characteristics of the breed, but in the appearance and absolute environmental friendliness.
Scope of application
Birch is used in furniture design due to its technical characteristics:
- wood is easy to process;
- when sawing or other machining does not chip;
- bends well when steamed.
Interior finishing work carried out in the house, often can not do without the use of wood. The density of birch allows it to be used in carpentry of a different nature. Taking an array of birch as a material, it is easy to imitate paneling in the house, visually resembling expensive wood.
Features of wood
Birch has long been dubbed the tree of life. In Russia, it was believed that this is a pure and innocent creature, personifying the soul of a young girl, who, according to legend, turned into a slender blond birch.
The name of the tree comes from the Indo-European "ber", which means "light" or "clear". Birch (from Latin Bétula) is a genus of blond trees belonging to the Birch family. In our region, it belongs to the species with the highest diversity of species and forms, planting density. That is why representatives of the forest industry publish different indicators of the value of a tree species depending on the region where the birch is distributed. In general, there are about a hundred species of birch trees in the world.
Wood characteristics
The texture of the wood is layered, with fine curls, often dark stripes, with a wide range of colors: from ivory to gray-red. The wood is homogeneous, without inclusions of natural resins. Physical and mechanical characteristics at the highest level. Birch is characterized by a high level of strength under mechanical stress - shock and damage.
Birch is classified as a species with an average density of wood. The density of birch, like other species, is determined by a special Brinell scale. According to a specially designed table, the level of wood hardness is marked with an estimate of 3.5 points.
Birch natural moisture content and material density
The density of wood is determined by the special above-mentioned scale. The points assigned according to the data from the Brinell table are calculated according to the formula, thanks to which it is possible to calculate the moisture content of the wood and compare it with the norm.
Scheme for determining density byBrinell is to use a hardened steel ball, the diameter of which is only 10 millimeters. It is pressed into the surface of the test specimen with a force of 100 kg. After that, the formed hole is measured. The hardness value is calculated using a special formula, and the coefficient obtained as a result of deductions is an indicator of density. The higher it is, the greater the density of birch. It is important to consider that this figure may vary.
The density of natural moisture birch (12%) is close to beech and even oak, which makes this wood a more popular material for furniture production than pine, the distribution of which is much higher, but the density of wood is several times lower.
Moisture is the first factor affecting density. To compare the hardness values of wood of different species, the value is reduced to a single moisture content of 12%. Density and strength characteristics are closely related to each other. The higher the first indicator, the stronger the tree.
Used in the furniture industry, iron birch with natural moisture has a hardness of 750kg/m3, which is a high-density wood.
How to determine the density of dry or wet birch?
Raw wood is considered to be wood, the percentage of moisture content of which exceeds 23%. This indicator is affected by the time of felling the tree, as well as the conditions for its further storage. To calculate the density of wet birch, the following data will be required: the mass and volume of the tree withgiven humidity. The density of raw birch is calculated by the formula ρW=mW/VW W - preset wood moisture content.
The density of the material increases dramatically with further moisture.
The moisture content of dry wood is zero. The density of dry birch can be easily calculated using the formula that relates the mass to its volume: ρ0=m0/V0
The density of such a rock will be lower, since the cell cavities, as well as the intercellular space of wood, are filled with oxygen bubbles. The porous structure is less resistant to mechanical damage.
Tree enters the market in the form of round timber, lumber, veneer, plywood. The density of birch, which depends on its moisture content, is an important technical characteristic that you should be familiar with. After all, based on this, the scope of the material is determined.
