Ultrasonic techniques for nondestructive testing of standing trees

The aim of this study is to assess wood quality of standing trees with ultrasonic velocity methods. The ultrasonic techniques currently used are: scattering based techniques that use travel time and other wave parameters for measuring the elastic constants of wood, and ultrasonic tomographic imaging techniques which seek to provide a high resolution picture of the defect. Scattering based techniques were firstly used as nondestructive techniques with increment cores of 5 mm diameter. On these specimens measurements with bulk waves--longitudinal and shear were used to detect the influence of sylvicultural treatment (pruning) on wood quality and also to detect defects (slope of grain, wavy figures). High resolution imaging techniques were developed for imaging abnormalities induced by biological attacks of fungi or insects in standing trees. In this case, ultrasonic tomography refers to cross-sectional imaging of trees from data collected by illuminating the tree from different directions. Ultrasonic images were reconstructed from the time of flight. The images were reconstructed from 120 measurements in situ and through the bark with direct transmission technique, using 1 MHz transducers. The resolution is 5 cm.     

Analytical Instrumental Techniques to Study Archaeological Wood Degradation

Abstract

Historically, a very large variety of everyday artifacts were made of wood, which makes them representative of their historical period or social context and valuable for archaeologists and historians. In order to preserve degraded wood and to develop and apply suitable conservation treatments, chemical and physical characterization of archaeological wood is needed. This review provides the reader with a survey on state-of-the-art of instrumental analytical tools available to understand the morphology and the chemical composition of archaeological wood. The focus is on microscopic and spectroscopic techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and analytical techniques based on pyrolysis, such as direct exposure–mass spectrometry (DE-MS), pyrolysis–mass spectrometry (Py-MS), pyrolysis–gas chromtography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), with emphasis on their respective potentialities and limitations. The advantages of techniques based on synchrotron radiation are also discussed. In addition, the applicability of each examined technique is illustrated and discussed through specific examples from the literature.     

Laser engineering of spine discs

The laser engineering of intervertebral discs is one of the branch of medical physics aimed at the development of minimally invasive laser medical techniques based on the effect of the controlled (time- and space-modulated) laser radiation on the structure and the field of mechanical stress of biological tissues. A new method for the laser engineering of the intervertebral discs and the differences of this approach from the existing physical methods of medical treatment are considered. The newly formed tissues of animals and humans are hystologically studied. Possible regeneration processes are discussed. A control system that provides for the treatment efficiency and safety is developed. The new laser medical equipment that is designed for the laser engineering of intervertebral discs is described, and the corresponding results of the clinical application are presented.     

Whole-field optical diagnostics for structural analysis in the automotive industry

This paper reviews the whole-field optical diagnostic methods developed by the Applied Optics Laboratory (AOL) of the Rover Group for structural analysis. The techniques discussed provide measurements of a range of parameters, specifically: deformation, vibration amplitude and phase, shear stress, surface form, and flow velocity. The paper describes the philosophy used to develop the techniques and the overall business issues and applications which have driven their development. Each measurement system is then discussed in turn with emphasis on the novelty of the optical device or data analysis procedure used, and their relevance to automotive engineering applications. Illustrative examples are presented for each technique.     

Identification of polymer matrix yield stress in the wood cell wall based on micropillar compression and micromechanical modelling

Based on a combination of micropillar compression experiments and modelling of the secondary cell wall (cw) using continuum micromechanics, the shear yield stress of the polymer matrix is identified for both normal and compression wood of Norway spruce. It is shown that the model is able to capture the differences in mechanical properties between the two tissues based on the knowledge of composition of the samples, microfibril angle, as well as phase properties on the nanometer scale. By testing an isolated piece of the cell wall with a homogeneous and uniaxial stress field on the micrometer scale and using the micromechanical model to determine average stress fields on the nanometer scale, it is possible to identify the shear yield stress of the polymer matrix in wood, which was found to be in the range of 14.9–17.5 MPa for normal and compression wood. It was shown that this corresponds to a stress in the lignin phase of approx. 17 MPa. This combined study thus demonstrates a new approach for validating multiscale models predicting yield properties with uniaxial experiments at the microscale and measuring phase properties of inhomogeneous materials by a combination of modelling and experimental approaches.     

不同含水率下木材尺寸变化的近红外光谱研究

木材和水分关系的研究一直以来都是木材学研究领域的重点课题。木材中水分含量变化会使木材产生干缩湿胀,进而影响其尺寸稳定性,这关系到木材的实际应用。一般认为,木材产生变形的根本原因是木材化学组分中多糖类物质所含羟基与水分形成氢键作用的结果,而近红外光谱对有机材料含氢基团具有高度的敏感性。利用这一特点,为了能够实现对木材尺寸变化的在线快速检测,应用近红外光谱(near infrared,NIR)探讨了不同含水率木材与其尺寸稳定性之间的相互关系并建立了木材尺寸变化预测模型。通过对不同含水率下木材三个切面进行近红外扫描得到光谱信息,结合化学计量学方法,建立基于偏最小二乘法的木材径、弦向尺寸变化率的近红外光谱模型,并采用交叉检验的方式对模型进行验证。结果表明：不同含水率条件下的木材径、弦向尺寸变化率与相应的近红外光谱有很高的相关性,说明可以通过近红外光谱来研究木材的尺寸变化;研究建立的木材径、弦向尺寸变化模型的相关系数都大于0.90,均具有比较好的适用性;通过比较横切面上建立的径、弦向尺寸变化率模型,弦向好于径向。以上结果表明利用近红外光谱技术对木材的尺寸变化进行快速、准确的预测具有较好的可行性。     

Effect of anisotropy on acoustoelastic birefringence in wood

The ultrasonic velocity of shear waves propagating through radial direction of a wood plate specimen, transversely to the loading direction, was measured. By rotating an ultrasonic sensor, the oscillation direction of the shear waves was varied with respect to the wood plate axis and loading direction. The relationship between shear wave velocity and oscillation direction was examined to discuss the effect of anisotropy on the acoustoelastic birefringence in wood. The results obtained were summarized as follows. When the oscillation direction of the shear wave corresponded to the tangential direction of the wood specimen regardless of the stress direction, shear wave velocity decreased markedly and the relationship between shear wave velocity and rotation angle tended to become discontinuous. That is, when the shear waves oscillated in the anisotropic axis of the wood, the shear wave velocity peaked unlike in the case of oscillation in the stress direction. In an isotropic material (acrylic, aluminum 5052), on the contrary, when the shear waves oscillated in the stress direction of the specimen, the shear wave velocity peaked regardless of the main-axis direction of the specimen. On the basis of the discussion of these results, the ultrasonic shear wave propagating in wood under stress is confirmed to be polarized in the anisotropic axis of the wood.     

Imaging of wood tissue by ToF-SIMS: Critical evaluation and development of sample preparation techniques

Tissue of Norway spruce wood was investigated by time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Different sample preparation techniques (including sectioning and drying) traditionally used for SEM analysis were compared and critically evaluated. A high contamination of wood surfaces by polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) introduced onto the sample during sectioning was detected by ToF-SIMS. A new protocol was developed and images of wood sections dried in different ways were compared. Main location of Mg, Na, K and Ca, but no lignin in membranes of bordered pits in spruce section surfaces was detected by ToF-SIMS imaging if critical point drying (CPD) or acetone extraction followed by drying under nitrogen flow (AEND) was applied. No specific locations of wood components as well as low signals from metal ions (Mg and Na) were observed on the wood surfaces of freeze-dried (FD) or air-dried (AD) sections. It was found that extractive substances, presenting on surfaces of FD and AD wood section, were evenly distributed on the surfaces and interfered with ToF-SIMS analysis. Our results indicated that ToF-SIMS imaging was critically sensitive to the sample preparation technique and a strict protocol for characterization of metals, lignin and polysaccharides in wood was suggested.     

SEM-EDXA分析不同生长应力木材细胞壁微区木质素沉积

选取具不同生长应力水平的人工林尾巨桉(Eucalyptus uroph ylla×E.grandis)正常木为研究对象,借助场发射环境扫描电子显微镜系统,结合以溴元素做标记的X射线能谱分析技术,分析了尾巨桉细胞壁微区木质素沉积与生长应力的关系.研究结果表明,木纤维细胞壁各微区间木质素含量的大小关系与生长应力高低无关,其...     

Polyspectral technique for the analysis of stress-waves characteristics and species recognition in wood veneers

In this work a simple technique to obtain information about the species of wood samples using stress-wave sounds in the audible range is presented. However, spectra of wood sounds generated by pendulum impact are very complex and feature extraction for classification purposes is very difficult. Polyspectral techniques have been successfully applied to several problems from radar pattern recognition to medical signal processing. Following this approach, convolution of four different sound impacts has been done. This permits to extract clear polyspectral features suitable for wood species recognition with possible applications to both human assisted and automatic wood identification systems with minimal intersample variability. Results indicate that using this technique only the two most intense polyspectral peaks are enough for species recognition.     

Resin–Sisal and Wood Flour Composites Made from Unsaturated Polyester Thermosets

Short fibers and wood flour were selected as fillers in the production of two types of unsaturated polyester composites (bisphenolic and isophthalic-based thermosets). Sisal fibers were subjected to washing in order to remove the organic coating on the fibers (which were originally prepared for cord manufacture) and to maleic anhydride (MAN) esterification. The effect of these treatments on the thermomechanical properties of the composites, as well as on the mechanical properties (flexural and compression) and water absorption was investigated. All the results are coincident in showing the improved interfacial adhesion obtained by washing and mainly by esterification of the fibers. Additionally, hybrid wood flour sisal composites were prepared and their mechanical properties compared to those of the one-filler composites. The hybrid composites showed improved modulus and maximum stress.     

Microstructural features assessment of different waterlogged wood species by NMR diffusion validated with complementary techniques

Wood is a hygroscopic, multi-scale and anisotropic natural material composed of pores with different size and differently oriented. In particular, archaeologically excavated wood generally is waterlogged wood with very high moisture content (400%–800%) that need to have a rapid investigation at the microstructural level to obtain the best treatment with preservative agents. Time-dependent diffusion coefficient D(t) quantified by Pulse Field Gradient (PFG) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) techniques provides useful information about complex porous media, such as the tortuosity (τ) describing pore connectivity and fluid transport through media, the average-pore size, the anisotropic degree (a_n). However, diffusion NMR is intrinsically limited since it is an indirect measure of medium microstructure and relies on inferences from models and estimation of relevant diffusion parameters. Therefore, it is necessary to validate the information obtained from NMR diffusion parameters through complementary investigations. In this work, the structures of five waterlogged wood species were studied by PFG of absorbed water. D(t) and τ of water diffusing along and perpendicular to vessels/tracheids main axes together with relaxation times and a_n were quantified. From these parameters, the pore sizes distribution and the wood microstructure characterization were obtained. Results among wood species were compared, validated and integrated by micro-imaging NMR (μ-MRI), environmental-scanning electron-microscope (ESEM) images, wood dry density and imbibition times measurement of all woods. The work suggests that a_n vs τ rather than the estimated pore size diversifies and characterize the different wood species. As a consequence diffusion-anisotropy vs tortuosity could be an alternative method to characterize and differentiate wood species of waterlogged wood when high resolution images (μ-MRI and ESEM) are not available. Moreover, the combined use of D(t) and micro-MRI expands the scale of dimensions observable by NMR covering all the interesting length scales of wood.     

Visualising impregnated chitosan in Pinus radiata early wood cells using light and scanning electron microscopy

Chitosan, a deacetylated product of an abundant naturally occurring biopolymer chitin, has been used in a range of applications, particularly in food and health areas, as an antimicrobial agent. In the work reported here Pinus radiata wood was impregnated with chitosan as an environmentally compatible organic biocide (Eikenes et al., 2005a, Eikenes et al., 2005b) to protect wood against wood deteriorating microorganisms and to thus prolong the service life of wooden products. We developed sample preparation techniques targeted to visualise impregnated chitosan within wood tissues using light microscope and field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Sections were viewed with the light microscope without staining with a dye as well as after staining with the dye toluidine blue. Light microscopy was also undertaken on sections that had been stained with 1% aqueous osmium tetroxide (OsO₄). For SEM observations, the sections were treated with OsO₄ and then examined with the FE-SEM, first in the secondary electron imaging mode (SEI) and then in the backscattered electron imaging (BEI) mode, imaging the same areas of a section in both SEI and BEI modes. The preparation techniques employed and the combined use of light and scanning electron microscopy provided valuable complementary information, revealing that chitosan had penetrated into the cavities (cell lumens, intercellular spaces) of all sizes present within wood tissues and had also impregnated early wood cell walls. The information obtained is discussed in relation to its importance in further development of chitosan formulations and refinement of impregnation technologies to optimise chitosan impregnation into and distribution within wood tissues as well as in assessing chitosan efficacy.     

电火花放电通道蚀除绝缘工程陶瓷的热力学特性研究

 研究开发出一种绝缘工程陶瓷电火花加工新技术,它是利用电火花放电通道流经绝缘工程陶瓷表面时产生的瞬时高温作用进行蚀除加工的。建立了电火花放电通道热蚀除加工绝缘工程陶瓷的温度场和热应力场数学模型,对绝缘工程陶瓷表面上的温度梯度和热应力场进行了数值模拟,给出了火花放电通道在绝缘工程陶瓷表面上形成的温度梯度和热应力分布规律。模拟结果为揭示绝缘工程陶瓷的电火花微观去除机理、预测绝缘工程陶瓷表面的微观形貌和电加工参数的选择等奠定了理论基础。     

NMR spectroscopy applied to the Cultural Heritage: a preliminary study on ancient wood characterisation

High and low resolution solid state NMR methods have been applied to characterise a few samples of ancient wood. In an ancient larch wood sample, by applying ¹H low resolution NMR methods as a function of the temperature, the average pore size and its distribution have been determined. In addition, high resolution NMR techniques have allowed addressing of the question of the proximity of water pools to cellulose and lignin. In particular, a model can be hypothesized in which water pools are surrounded by thin layers of amorphous cellulose and/or lignin while the crystalline domains of cellulose surround the layers of amorphous cellulose. Preliminary results obtained using a fully non invasive and portable NMR unilateral relaxometer, the Eureka-Mouse10 (EM10), are reported. This instrumentation is shown to be perfectly suitable for characterizing degradation in ancient wood samples. PACS 76.60 k     

Consideration of Stress Stiffening and Material Reorientation in Modal Space Based Finite Element Solutions

Structural deformations are an important aspect of many engineering tasks. They are typically resolved as “off-line” finite element computations with accuracy set as the primary objective. Though high computational efficiency is always an important aspect, in certain applications its priority is of equal or similar importance as the accuracy itself. This paper tackles the problem of proper extension of linear models with the objective of keeping high numerical efficiency and covering moderate geometric nonlinearities. Modal-space based approach is addressed as one of the standard techniques for robust model reduction. Two extensions are proposed to account for moderate geometric nonlinearities in modal-space based solutions, one accounting for stress stiffening effect and the other for moderate material rigid-body rotations during deformation. Examples are provided to demonstrate the applicability and discuss the aspects of proposed techniques.     

原子设计材料科学与技术(Ⅰ)

科学实验技术的发展，使得人们有可能在原子尺度上人工合成材料，例如，原子团簇、团簇材料、线性链、多层异质结构、超薄膜等．这些材料的特征是维数低，对称性减小，几何特征显著．文章强调原子工程作为这些领域的交接点，重点讨论了原子设计材料的合成、表征和应用．考察了有限尺度和减少维数对这些材料的电磁、光和化学性质的影响和作用．从物理学、化学、材料科学和化学工程等多学科的角度研究了这一新出现领域的现状和未来     

Time-of-flight remote detection MRI of thermally modified wood

We demonstrate that time-of-flight (TOF) remote detection (RD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides detailed information about physical changes in wood due to thermal modification that is not available with conventional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based techniques. In the experiments, xenon gas was forced to flow through Pinus sylvestris pine wood samples, and the flow paths and dispersion of gas atoms were observed by measuring ¹²⁹Xe TOF RD MRI images from the samples. MRI sensitivity of xenon was boosted by the spin exchange optical pumping (SEOP) method. Two different samples were studied: a reference sample, dried at low temperature, and a modified sample, which was thermally modified at 240 °C after the drying. The samples were taken next to each other from the same wood plank in order to ensure the comparability of the results. The most important conclusion is that both the smaller dispersion observed in all the TOF RD experiments independent of each other and the decreased amount of flow paths shown by the time projection of z-encoded TOF RD MRI experiment imply that a large amount of pits connecting tracheid cells are closed in thermal modification. Closed pits may be one reason for reduced moisture content and improved dimensional stability of wood achieved in thermal modification. This is the first time biological samples have been investigated by TOF RD MRI.     

Holographic Interferometry (HI), Infrared Vision and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy for the assessment of painted wooden statues: a new integrated approach

Wood has been routinely employed in decorative arts, as well as in sculptures and paintings (support) during the Middle Ages, because of its unique aesthetic virtues. It may safely be assumed that wood, as a material for monumental sculpture, was much more commonly employed in the mediaeval period than existing examples would seem to indicate (Bulletin of the metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013). Wood is easily obtainable; it could be carved and put in place with less difficulty than stone, it is chemically stable when dry, and its surface offers a compatible substrate for paint application. However, the use of wood is not without pitfalls, and requires an understanding of its anisotropic and hygroscopic nature. It is also dimensionally unstable and subject to deterioration by fungi and insects. Moisture-related dimensional changes are certainly among the most challenging problems in painting conservation. With the purpose of preventing important damages, the use of non-or microdestructive testing (NDT) techniques is undoubtedly of paramount interest for painted wooden statues of great value. This work has a threefold purpose: (1) to validate the effectiveness of an integrated approach using near-infrared (NIR) reflectography, square pulse thermography (SPT), and holographic interferometry (HI) techniques for discovering old repairs and/or inclusions of foreign materials in a wooden structure, (2) to confirm and approximately date the restoration carried out by x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) (that is assembled with a scanning electron microscopy—SEM) techniques, and (3) to combine into a multidisciplinary approach two quantitative NDT results coming from optical and thermographic methods. The subject of the present study was a statue named “Virgin with her Child” (XIV century), whose origins are mysterious and not properly documented.     

Characterization of Interfacial Stress Transfer Ability by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis of Cellulose Fiber Based Composite Materials

The stress transfer ability at the fiber–matrix interface of wood fiber composites is known to affect the mechanical properties of the composite. The evaluation of interface properties at the level of individual fibers is however difficult due to the small dimensions and variability of the fibers. The dynamical mechanical properties of composite and constituents, in this case wood fibers and polylactide matrix, was here used together with micromechanical modeling to quantify the stress transfer efficiency at the fiber–matrix interface. To illustrate the methodology, a parameter quantifying the degree of imperfection at the interface was identified by inverse modeling using a micromechanical viscoelastic general self-consistent model with an imperfect interface together with laminate analogy on the composite level. The effect of moisture was assessed by comparison with experimental data from dynamic mechanical analysis in dry and moist state. For the wood fiber reinforced polylactide, the model shows that moisture absorption led to softening and mechanical dissipation in the hydrophilic wood fibers and biothermoplastic matrix, rather than loss of interfacial stress transfer ability.