## 3 Results and Discussions  
The water rise height results at the edges of the specimens over time are shown in Figure 5, presenting two average curves, one obtained from a set of values of the samples soaked for 24 h and the other of the samples soaked for 96 h. The dispersion of the results (comparing only these results) was small; the coefficient of variation did not reach 5%. On the basis of the results obtained, water at the edges of the specimen can be seen to increase significantly during the first few minutes of soaking (Figure 5). During the first hour, a rapid water rise was observed near the edge of the specimen. Later, further water rise can also be observed, but not as rapidly as at the beginning of the process, with water rise along the specimen generally being seen to slow down. When evaluating the results after six hours and again after twenty-four hours, the level of water rise in the sample was found to be similar. However, when the test was carried out and the water rise in the specimen was again evaluated after 96 h, it was found that the water had indeed risen, albeit slowly. In this case, when evaluating the results after twenty-four hours and after ninety-six hours, in individual cases, the water increased by between 1-2 cm higher along the specimen after ninety-six hours compared to the height which had been measured after twenty-four hours. Of course, because of the large dispersion of the sorption and structure properties of wood, these results cannot be considered absolute. These regularities are characteristic only in the case of these samples. After the specimen was immersed, the water rose along all of the bonded elements, at the edges of the LVL panel, with water ingress sometimes occurring at a lower point in the sample and sometimes higher, but in all elements the water actually rose during the first few minutes of the test. Analysis of the water rise levels inside the specimen revealed slightly different results (Figure 6). Figure 4: Tensile test specimen and the setup of the experiment, dimensions in mm. In order to evaluate the final water rise height, not only along the edges of the specimen but also inside the specimen, each specimen had to be cut lengthwise and the water rise height was measured in the bonded elements of the LVL panels after a period of 24 h and again after a period of 96 h, by immersing the specimens in water at a depth of 2 cm. Irrespective of the length of time, water at the edges of the specimen was found to have risen higher than it did inside the sample (Figure 6). Not all elements of the LVL bonded panel absorbed water within the same period of time on the inside of the LVL panel. For some elements, the water rise was not detected after twenty-four hours of soaking (Figure 6a). When evaluating those specimens that had been soaked for 96 h, it was found that although the water did tend to rise to insignificant levels, the rise height differed slightly after 24 h and after 96 h, and yet it was found that after 96 h most of the bonded elements had absorbed water and that water had crept upwards along the element (Figure 6b). When an assortment of wood with a moisture content below the fiber saturation limit is immersed end in a liquid, the liquid rises up under the action of capillary pressure. The macrocapillaries fill first with liquid, followed by microcapillaries. The air removed from the capillaries opposes the movement of the liquid. The liquid stops rising when the capillary pressure equals the force of the liquid's weight. In the case of LVL, the regularities are likely to be slightly different, as both the properties and fiber orientation of each layer may differ. Therefore, the research revealed quite rapid water egress along the LVL panel. Thanks to this finding, another study was conducted, this time to evaluate the level of immersion and how it served to alter the dimensions of the panel.