Wettability and liquid sorption of wood investigated by Wilhelmy plate method

The wettability of Scots pine veneers was investigated with different approaches using the Wilhelmy plate method. The probe liquids were water and octane, which differ; in that, water is able to swell the wood sample, whereas octane does not. Novel approaches based on the Wilhelmy plate method to study wettability, liquid penetration, and swelling behavior of wood veneers are introduced. First, immersion to constant depth was performed, and liquid uptake with time was evaluated. Different kinetic regimes, the fastest one associated with contact angle changes and the slowest regime associated with liquid sorption by capillary and diffusion, were observed. Two other approaches, imbibition at constant depth (with initial deeper immersion) and full immersion, were utilized in order to keep the contact angle constant during measurements. Dynamic wettability studies were done by a multi-cycle (10-20 cycles) Wilhelmy method. Based on this, the time-dependent swelling of wood and changes in sample perimeter could be obtained. Generally, water showed higher absorption than octane. In all wettability studies, and for both probe liquids, the penetration process starts with a fast initial sorption, which is followed by swelling in the case of water.