Evaluation of Material Characteristics of Xylite – Part 1. Influence of Moisture Content on Some Mechanical Properties

The structure of xylite as lithotype of lignite indicates that it predominately originates from tree stems, from the family Taxodiaceae or Cupressaceae. Despite drastic changes in the long term process of its transformation, it retains some relevant properties of wood, nowadays applicable for specific products. The research examined the influence of moisture content and temperature on modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR) as well as shear strength and hardness. With decreasing of moisture content, the bending strength and stiffness of xylite increased and was best fitted by power regression model. The increasing of testing temperature from 20 °C to 80 °C had negative effect on stiffness and bending strength of xylite. The hardness was positively correlated with density of xylite, whereas shear strength had the opposite tendency.