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Mechanical properties of cellulose fibres and wood. Orientational aspects in situ investigated with synchrotron radiation.

Kölln K, Grotkopp I, Burghammer M, Roth SV, Funari SS, Dommach M, Müller M

Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Universität Kiel, Leibnizstrasse 19, D-24098 Kiel, Germany.

Highly oriented native cellulose fibres (flax) and softwood (pine) have been investigated by means of X-ray diffraction. Local structural information was obtained by using X-ray microbeams. Tensile tests were performed in situ, revealing a change of orientation of cellulose microfibrils in materials with tensile strain. In flax fibres, the microfibrils rotate during the first percent of stretching, into a more parallel orientation with respect to the fibre axis. For wood, a decrease of orientation with the onset of strain hardening is found for the first time.

Published 21 October 2005 in J Synchrotron Radiat, 12: 739-44.
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