Effects of Biological and Chemical Degradation on the Properties of Scots Pine—Part II: Wood-Moisture Relations and Viscoelastic Behaviour

The present research aimed to assess the moisture properties and viscoelastic behaviour of artificially degraded pine wood, intended to serve as a model material for ongoing studies on new conservation treatments for waterlogged archaeological wood. Sorption isotherms and hydroxyl accessibility were measured using a Dynamic Vapour Sorption (DVS) system, while the investigation of the selected wood rheological properties was performed using Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). Fungal decomposition of pine by Coniophora puteana decreased the maximum equilibrium moisture content (EMC) from 20.3% to 17.7% in the first and from 19.9% to 17.1% in the second DVS run compared to undegraded pine, while chemical degradation using 50% NaOH solution increased the wood EMC to 24.6% in the first and 24.2% in the second run. The number of free hydroxyls measured for the biologically degraded sample was similar to sound wood, while chemical degradation reduced their number from 11.3 mmol g−1 to 7.9 mmol g−1. The alterations in the wood chemical composition due to different degradation processes translated into changes in viscoelastic behaviour. For biologically degraded wood, a reduction in the loss modulus and storage modulus at the temperature of 25 °C was observed compared to undegraded pine. Surprisingly, for chemically degraded pine, the values were more similar to sound wood due to the considerable densification of the material resulting from shrinkage during drying. The loss factor values for both degraded wood types were higher than for undegraded ones, indicating an increase in damping properties compared to sound pine. Distinct changes were visible in the storage modulus and loss factor graphs for DMA of chemically and biologically degraded pine. The degradation processes used in the study produced wood types with different moisture and viscoelastic properties. However, both seem useful as model materials in the research on the new conservation agents for waterlogged archaeological wood.