Abstract
Heating of green wood involves a complex set of deformation processes, including reversible thermal strain, reversible shrinkage due to decrease of moisture content, and irreversible viscoelatic recovery of growth stress activated by temperature called hygrothermal recovery (HTR). Experimental tests were performed on small Japanese Cypress specimens oriented in the three principal R, T, L directions, using a Thermo Mechanical Analyser. The analysis allowed the separation of the hygrothermal recovery from the reversible components of the deformation.