Resumen

ORTIZ, Rodrigo  y  BLANCHETTE, Robert. Defibration wood obtained from the Saltpeter Works Humberstone and Santa Laura in Chile: World Heritage Sites. Madera bosques [online]. 2014, vol.20, n.3, pp.59-68. ISSN 2448-7597.

In the Saltpeter Works Humberstone and Santa Laura, declared World Heritage Site in 2005, an unusual deterioration process of the wood takes place in which individual fibers can be observed on the surface of the wood. This paper gives a description and assessment of the damage observed in the installations belonging to both office buildings. Also, the study was supplemented by analysis of samples collected through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Additional studies in the wood by evaluating the ultrasound velocity and screw extraction were conducted. The results determined that the deterioration is chemical attack due to the accumulation of salts present in the wood, and whose effect is associated with the degradation of the highly lignified middle lamella in Pseudotsuga menziesii and Nothofagus obliqua woods. Moreover, the results showed that the wood unaffected by the degradation of the salt maintains unchanged its mechanical properties. The evident deterioration, which is called defribration, has been developed in varying degrees in all installations. However, the biggest damage is presented in the upper floors of the leaching at tower Santa Laura, which requires the application of preventive measures associated with the removal of salt on the surface of the material.

Palabras llave : deterioration; nondestructive evaluation; middle lamella; microscopy; mechanical properties; salts.

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