Assessing Treatments to Mitigate End-Face Cracking in Air-Dried <em>Acacia dealbata </em>Logs

Abstract

Acacia dealbata Link, named Mimosa in Portugal, is an invasive hardwood species with potential for construction use, but research is limited. The available stock of small-diameter juvenile wood (sjw) logs can help reduce this gap, but tangential cracking at log ends challenges fastener connections. This study evaluated different treatments to control and reduce end-face cracking in sjw logs during air drying, an economical and environmentally friendly procedure. Extreme two-thirds of sixteen Mimosa logs were subjected to two treatments: one with longitudinal kerfs 15 mm deep along the length (2 and 3 kerfs) and the other with a hollow in the centre up to half the length (16 mm and 30 mm diameters). Over 219 days of air drying and compared with the central part, kerfing treatments significantly reduced outer wood tangential cracking (p &amp;amp;lt; 0.001), with the 3-kerf also reducing crack numbers (p &amp;amp;lt; 0.05) but increasing significantly cracks near the pith (p &amp;amp;lt; 0.01). The 30 mm central hollow significantly reduced central perforation cracking (p &amp;amp;lt; 0.05). Results suggest that a combined treatment approach could help mitigate cracking, enhancing the suitability of wild Mimosa logs for construction use.