Transverse fracture properties of green wood and the anatomy of six temperate tree species

Özden, Seray; Ennos, Anthony Roland; Cattaneo, Marco E.G.V.

Abstract

© Institute of Chartered Foresters, 2016. All rights reserved. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of wood anatomy and density on the mechanics of fracture when wood is split in the radial-longitudinal (RL) and tangential-longitudinal (TL) fracture systems. The specific fracture energies (Gf, J m-2) of the trunk wood of six tree species were studied in the green state using double-edge notched tensile tests. The fracture surfaces were examined in both systems using Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM). Wood density and ray characteristics were also measured. The results showed that Gf in RL was greater than TL for five of the six species. In particular, the greatest degree of anisotropy was observed in Quercus robur L., and the lowest in Larix decidua Mill. ESEM micrographs of fractured specimens suggested reasons for the anisotropy and differences across tree species. In the RL system, fractures broke across rays, the walls of which unwound like tracheids in longitudinal-tangential (LT) and longitudinal-radial (LR) failure, producing a rough fracture surface which would absorb energy, whereas in the TL system, fractures often ran alongside rays.

Citation

Özden, S., Ennos, A. R., & Cattaneo, M. E. (2017). Transverse fracture properties of green wood and the anatomy of six temperate tree species. Forestry, 90(1), 58-69. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpw023

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 5, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jul 20, 2016
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jul 7, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 20, 2016
• Journal: Forestry
• Print ISSN: 0015-752X
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-3626
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 90
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 58-69
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpw023
• Keywords: Radial-longitudinal fracture systems, Tangential-longitudinal fracture systems, Environmental scanning electron microscopy
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/440663
• Publisher URL: http://forestry.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/07/18/forestry.cpw023
• Additional Information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Forestry following peer review. The version of record Seray Özden, Anthony Roland Ennos, Marco E. G. V. Cattaneo; Transverse fracture properties of green wood and the anatomy of six temperate tree species. Forestry (Lond) 2017; 90 (1): 58-69 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpw023