Assessment of the possibility in wood utilization of Lithocarpus ducampii A. Camus

Abstract

Lithocarpus ducampii A. Camus is a large tree with normaly 50 - 60 cm in diameter and 30 m in height. It is a hardwood, evengreen, indigenous and commercial species in Vietnam. Wood is smooth and straight grain, wood diffuse-porous. Vessels are exclusively solitary, 5 - 8 vessels per square millimeter with two different size, mean tangential diameter of 191 µm and 83 µm in big and small ones respectively. Rays of two distinct sizes, rays exclusively  uniseriate with 270 µm in height and normaly 19 rays per millimeter. Aggregate rays commonly ~ 20-seriate with 9,813 µm in height and observability by naked eyes, 1 - 3 aggregate rays per millimeter. Axial parenchyma scanty paratracheal or in narrow bands or lines up to three cells wide. Wood shrinkage is moderate (total shrinkage in tangential direstion 7.59%, in radial direction 5.73% and volume of 14.04%). Lithocarpus ducampii wood is medium to high mechanical strength (compression parallel to grain: 69.6 MPa, tension parallel to the grain: 105.6 MPa, static bending: 125.5 MPa, impact strength: 102.4 kJ / m2, cleavage parallel to grain: 19.0 N /
mm, modulus of elastic: 11.2 GPa). With structural features, physical and mechanical properties mention above, Lithocarpus ducampii wood has the ability to be less warped, cracked during drying process, suitable for planed veneer, blockboards and wooden furniture. Wood is also suitable for use in construction and transportation needed a high load