The relationship between full penetration uptake and swelling of different fluids

 A test method was developed to calculate the amount of fluid needed to achieve full penetration in Pinus sylvestris sapwood samples. The samples were treated using a vacuum schedule with a range of solvents with varying swelling capabilities. The solvents were xylene, methanol, water and three intermediate binary solutions. It was found that there was a linear relationship between full penetration uptake and swelling. The swelling and uptake were related to the interaction between the solvents and the wood cell wall. An extensive literature review is contained within this paper based on the interaction between fluids and the wood cell wall to assist with the interpretation of results produced by the experiment.