CASTELO WOOD SPECIES: PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Wood is a material that for millennia has been used by man for the most diverse purposes, mainly in construction, civil and rural, and furniture industry. In Brazil, one of the main sources of wood is the Amazon Rainforest. With the timely growth of certified areas in region, circumstantial reduction in the supplying some species of established use has led to the characterization of lesser-known essences. As such, it seeks to balance material supply to meet the consumer market demandin this segment. So, this work aimed to determine, based on recommendations of Annex B, of Brazilian Code NBR 7190:1997, physical and mechanical properties of Castelo (Calycophyllum multiflorum) wood specie. Twelve determinations were made per property, totaling two hundred four experimental values. Specimens were obtained from twelve beams of nominal dimensions 6cm x 12cm x 300cm. In addition to the characterization, regression models were used to estimate strength and stiffness values as a function of apparent density, the simplest physical property to be obtained. Results of mechanical properties were shown to be consistent with those obtained for species used in construction, confirming potential for Castelo application in structural design. In regression models, apparent density was considered significant to estimate only four among the fourteen strength and stiffness properties studied here.