2. Experimental procedures
2.1. Materials
The two types of wood fibers used in this study were eucalypt
(Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and poplar (Populus deltoides). Their
chemical compositions are presented in Table 1. To reduce extractives,
woody materials were treated with water at 50 ◦C for 48 h.
Subsequently, they were dried, cut and screened into excelsior.
Most of wood–wools ranged from 100 to 250 mm long, 1–5 mm
wide and 0.2–0.5 mm thick. The average excelsior dimensions did
not vary significantly between the two species.
Portland cement Type I (ASTM Type A) was used as binding
material. Calcium chloride was used as cement setting accelerator.
It was an analytical grade from Merk Co, Germany.