FONDECYT

Basic wood characterization

General data *

  • Common/commercial name: Pino, Pino insigne, Pino Radiata
  • Native name: -
  • Scientific name: Pinus radiata
  • Foreign name: Monterrey Pine, California Pine, Insignis Pine
  • Family: Pinaceae
  • Location: Central Zone, South Zone

Description of the species *

Pine is, among the woods included in this website, the only one that is not native to Chile. The reason for its inclusion is that it is the most used, known and sold wood in the country, so it is the “baseline” with respect to the assessment of other species. Originally from California, United States, and introduced in Chile in 1888, they are trees with straight trunks that can reach heights of up to 50 m and diameters of 1 m or more. The branches are arranged in whorls with angles of 30° to 90°, have dense foliage whose branches are curved towards the apexes. It is a fast-growing species, so it is produced on an increasing scale in plantations. It has very noticeable and wide growth rings.

The heartwood is heterogeneous in color, light yellowish brown, slightly orange, and the sapwood is yellowish white. This wood is not resistant to fungal attack.

Visual characterization

  • Main color Whitish
  • Secondary color Yellowish
  • Color of grain Reddish brown
  • Grain definition Very well defined
  • Grain shape Uniform
  • Grain spacing Fairly widely spaced
  • Grain thickness Intermediate
  • Presence of knots Many knots
  • Natural gloss Very little
  • Porosity Very few pores
  • Texture Slightly rough
* The data in the sections with an asterisk in their title were compiled from various bibliographic sources listed at the bottom of the page. All other sections present exclusive information obtained through the development of this project.

The concepts of “main color” and “secondary color” in the visual characterization correspond to the so-called spring wood, lighter and fast growing, and the “grain color” to the summer or late wood, darker and more compact due to its slow growth. This difference generates the tree's growth rings and grain patterns, determined by the type of wood cut. It should also be noted that while some species produce wood that is uniform in color and hardness throughout the tree trunk, others have differences between the sapwood (outer layers of the trunk) and the heartwood (center of the trunk), the latter being darker and more solid.

Microphotographs of the species (1600x)

Physical/mechanical characterization

General data (humidity 12%) *

Hardness (N = Newton)
  • Parallel 2842.00 N
  • Perpendicular 2028.60 N
Tensile strength
  • Radial 2.35 N/mm²
  • Tangential 4.02 N/mm²
Flexural strength
  • MOR 64.69 N/mm²
  • MOE 8359.40 N/mm²
Density
  • Density 448 kg/m³
  •  
Compressive Strength
  • Parallel 36.26 N/mm²
  • Perpendicular 13.23 N/mm²
Shear Strength
  • Radial 6.66 N/mm²
  • Tangential 7.45 N/mm²

Suggested applications and uses from the technical point of view *

Experiential Characterization

Sensory level: feel and perception

N per species ≈ 60

Semantic differential

This kind of graph defines, by means of a list of ten pairs of opposite concepts, how people perceive, and therefore, how they describe a specific wood, in this case from the sensory level, i.e., using the five human senses. It also allows a quick visual comparison with the results of the other woods under study.

Affective level: Emotions and affections

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-8
-9
-10
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-8
-9
-10
High intensity
High unpleasant activation
Negativity
Low unpleasant activation
Low intensity
Low pleasant activation
Positivity
High pleasant activation
N per species ≈ 60

Circumflex of emotions

Emotions can be organized into a circumplex by their intensity and positivity or negativity (review literature sources section for more detail). This allows a better understanding of affective experience. The most frequent coincidences (3 or more mentions) in the emotions reported by people with respect to each species are shown. The name and number of mentions each emotion had can be seen by positioning the cursor over each circle.

N per species ≈ 60

Balance of positive and negative emotions

This graph shows the total number of emotions that people reported experiencing when interacting with each wood species, and the percentages of positive and negative emotions out of that total.



Interpretive level: meanings and associations

N per species ≈ 60

Semantic Differential

This graph defines, by means of ten pairs of opposing concepts, how people perceive each wood, in this case interpretively, i.e., according to the meanings and associations they attach to each species. It also allows a quick visual comparison with the results of the other woods under study.

N per species ≈ 250

Free association of words

Materials possess meanings that are related to our previous experience, culture, background, etc. People freely associated the different woods with words that arose spontaneously to them. The words that were repeated most frequently (3 or more mentions) and the number of times they appeared are presented.

Biometric measurement of the experience

Imotions eyetracking

N per species ≈ 100

Level of gaze fixation on the species in a given time (seconds).

Using specialized eyetracking software and equipment, we defined how long people fixated their gaze on a specific point. The graph shows how many seconds, in total, each species was observed by showing them all together (for 45 seconds) to a total of 100 people (one person at a time). The positions of the woods were changed during the process to avoid significantly influencing them.

Heat map


Heat map: gaze fixation on each species

Using the same eye-tracking tools, "heat maps" are created, which clearly show those species on which people tend to fixate their gaze the most (500 milliseconds or more looking at the same point) and how those fixations are distributed among all of them. The areas where the gaze of the 100 people (one at a time) fixated the most (though not necessarily the longest) while looking at all the woods for 45 seconds are highlighted in warmer colors.


Imotions facereading

N per species ≈ 60

Average emotions experienced during the time of interaction with the wood according to software

The specialized software Imotions and its facial gesture reading module were used. Using an HD camera the software can capture people's micro-expressions while interacting with wood and translate them into these seven predefined emotions. The graph presents the average in which people showed these emotions when exploring the species with all their senses for thirty seconds.

Value
Seconds
N per species ≈ 60

Emotions experienced during the time of interaction with the wood according to software (second by second).

Emotions are brief, variable events. Imotions software was used to capture changes in people's microexpressions during the time they first interacted with samples of each wood (thirty seconds) and report variations in the emotions they experienced.

Uses, applications, finishes and processes

Suggested experiential applications and uses

Based on people's preferences about the options presented, the uses and applications that were most frequently associated with each species from experience and perception were defined, in contrast to what was suggested from technical aspects and specialized literature, which is shown at the beginning of each species card.


Objects
N per species ≈ 60

Public spaces
N per species ≈ 60

Household spaces
N per species ≈ 60

Finishes and processes associated with the species

Based on the options presented, the finishes and production processes that people suggest most frequently for each species from their experience and perception were defined, in contrast to what was established from technical parameters, defined at the beginning of each species sheet.


Finishes
N per species ≈ 60

Processes
N per species ≈ 60

Bibliographic references *

Díaz-Vaz O., J., Devlieger Sollier, F., Juacida Percaz, L., et al (1986). Maderas comerciales de Chile. Guía de reconocimiento [Commercial woods of Chile. Recognition guide] (p. 64). Valdivia, Chile: CONAF : Editorial Alborada

Hernández, G.. & Pinilla, J.C. (2010). Propiedades de la maderas de especies forestales nativas y exóticas de Chile [Properties of the wood of native and exotic forest species from Chile] (p.75). INFOR.

Torres H. (1971). Maderas [Woods] (pp.35-36), Santiago, Chile: CORMA

Photographs of foliage and flowers of each species belong to www.chilebosque.cl and their use was authorized by Diego Alarcón under the academic and non-profit context of this project.

The photographs of the different woods were taken by Francisco Rojas Miranda, who was part of the project team.

The circumflex model of emotions used is based on: Scherer, K. R. (2000Emotion. In M. Hewstone & W. Stroebe (Eds.). Introduction to Social Psychology: A European perspective (3rd. ed., pp. 151-191).