Measurement of swelling stresses in spruce (Picea abies) samples

Swelling stresses play a significant role in the efficient use of wood products in different applications such as paneling. The main objective of this study was to investigate development of swelling stresses in the tangential direction in spruce (Picea abies) as function of water soaking time in order to provide basic data. Experimental results were compared to the theoretical calculations obtained from different models. On the basis of the findings of this study it appears that the magnitude of the swelling stresses in spruce samples in the tangential direction was approximately 1.2 MPa. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.