Banca de DEFESA: MAYARA DANIELLE DE MEDEIROS

Mimosa tenuiflora (Jurema-preta) and Mimosa caesalpiniifolia (Sabiá) woods and their possibilities for architectural use.

Mimosa tenuiflora (Jurema-preta); Mimosa caesalpiniifolia (Sabiá); wood; architecture.

The use of native wood species from the Caatinga in architectural products can contribute to the sustainable use of forest resources and to the valorization of these species. This research aims to develop a compatibility procedure capable of relating the dimensional and visual characteristics of pieces of Mimosa tenuiflora (Jurema-preta) and Mimosa caesalpiniifolia (Sabiá) to the technical requirements of different architectural products. A total of 80 wood pieces were characterized, comprising 37 of Jurema-preta and 43 of Sabiá, considering width, height, length, and the presence or absence of knots, splits, wane, cracks, fissures, and holes. The data were organized and analyzed using spreadsheets and exploratory statistics, combined with a survey of technical requirements from standards, specialized books, and scientific publications. The results indicated that both species predominantly present pieces with small cross-sections and short to medium lengths. Jurema-preta showed greater dimensional uniformity, whereas Sabiá exhibited greater variability and slightly larger cross-sections. Knots and wane were the most frequent visual characteristics. The comparison between the dimensions of the pieces and the technical requirements focused the analysis on four flooring products: parquet, strip blocks, traditional blocks, and four-sided interlocking blocks. All pieces were considered compatible with parquet and strip blocks. For traditional blocks, 6 Jurema-preta pieces and 23 Sabiá pieces were compatible; for interlocking blocks, the corresponding figures were 11 and 29, respectively. Thus, Sabiá presented a wider range of potential uses according to the dimensional criteria adopted. The procedure developed allows the raw material to be individually related to the technical requirements of products, supporting utilization decisions. However, compatibility represents a dimensional possibility, and the incorporation of visual, processing, yield, and performance criteria is necessary for a definitive assessment.