Integrated approach to wood structure, Behaviour and applications

This book contains the papers presented at the Fourth International Conference of European Society for Wood Mechanics, held from 17-17th May 2006 in Florence Italy. The European Society for Wood Mechanics has as a main aim that of promoting research in the field of wood mechanics among European scientists, by means of regular conferences and publication of relevant proceedings. The Florence conference has represented the conjunction of two different events: the fourth International Conference of the ESWM and the annual meeting of COST Action E35 (Fracture Mechanics and micro mechanics of wood and wood composites with regard to wood machining). The main reasons that have leaded the Board of ESWM and the Management Committee of COST Action E35 to organize a common event, were due to the recognition of the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to research studies on wood and its working technologies, and to the potential benefits for European scientists to met other non European researchers that are working on the same fields of interest and that normally attend ESWM Conferences. The readers of this book will find a collection of 57 papers of high scientific standard presented by scientists from 24 different countries.