Physical and Mechanical Properties of Four Varieties of Ironwood

Abstract

Bulian or ironwood (Eusideroxylon zwageri Teijsm. & Binn.) belongs to the family of
Lauraceae. The most valuable characteristic of ironwood is very durable and an excellent
physical and mechanical properties. Four varieties of ironwood namely exilis, grandis, ovoidus
and zwageri had been identified based on morphological characteristics and genetic marker. It
has never been determined that there is a correlation between mechanical properties of wood and
the varieties. Four logs samples were collected from Senami forest, Jambi, Indonesia. The
Physical and mechanical property test was referred to British Standard (BS) 375-57, including
moisture content, density, shrinkage, bending strength. Some parameters of physical and
mechanical properties were not significantly different among investigated logs. These were dry
air moisture content, tangential shrinkage green to oven dry, green hardness and green
compression parallel to grain. Other parameters were significantly different among investigated
logs. The cluster analysis based on physical and mechanical properties shows that zwageri and
ovoidus formed one cluster with a higher degree of similarity than another cluster, which was
formed by grandis and exilis. This dendrogram is synchronized with the dendrogram which was
formed based on other morphological structures of ironwood.
Keywords: ironwood, physical and mechanical properties, senami forest, varieties