A better understanding of the hygro-mechanical behaviour of poplar wood (Populus alba L.) is proposed by means of restrained swelling tests. Small clear specimens were tested along their tangential direction in controlled climatic conditions; a dry climate (30 % relative humidity and 30 °C temperature) and a humid one (80 % relative humidity and 30 °C temperature) were cyclically set and kept constant each during 7 days. In these conditions, three matched specimens were tested at the same time along the tangential direction: specimen A free to shrink and swell, specimen B free to shrink and prevented from swelling beyond its initial dimension, specimen C prevented from shrinking and swelling. A specific device was set up to monitor strain and/or stress on each specimen. During the adsorption phase, compression forces (on specimens B and C) were measured, and during the desorption step, compression set shrinkage (compression strain at zero load) and tension stress (on specimens B and C, respectively) were measured. In this paper, the dedicated experimental device is presented and a deep analysis of experimental curves is then proposed by means of a rheological approach. By the analysis, some basic data are obtained (swelling coefficient, swelling pressure and compression set shrinkage), and a complex behaviour of wood made of reversible and irreversible phenomena is characterized.