Mechanosorptive creep – structural origin on the single fibre level

Fibres and fibre material deforms with time when subjected to a load. When the climate is varied this effect is increased. This increased deformation is called mechanosorptive creep and is the cause why boxes fails in varying climate leading to large economic losses. A method for determining this mechanosorptive creep for singe fibres has recently been developed at STFI-Packforsk.
The tensile properties of fibres vary depending on the angle of the cellulose microfibrils in the cell wall. This angle varies depending on wood species and of different origin as juvenile and mature wood. The purpose of this study is to determine how and to what extent the fibril angle in fibres and fibre type influence the mechanosorptive creep.
The work includes isolation of single fibres from different wood sources. This will be done under light microscope. The effect of varying climate will be tested in a DMA, a small tensile tester, equipped with a humidity generator. Fibre dimensions will be analysed with CLSM, confocal scanning laser microscopy.