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Force–displacement measurements of earlywood bordered pits using a mesomechanical tester
Author(s) -
Zelinka Samuel L.,
Bourne Keith J.,
Hermanson John C.,
Glass Samuel V.,
Costa Adriana,
Wiedenhoeft Alex C.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/pce.12532
Subject(s) - materials science , displacement (psychology) , microprobe , composite material , membrane , tearing , digital image correlation , geology , mineralogy , chemistry , psychology , biochemistry , psychotherapist
The elastic properties of pit membranes are reported to have important implications in understanding air‐seeding phenomena in gymnosperms, and pit aspiration plays a large role in wood technological applications such as wood drying and preservative treatment. Here we present force–displacement measurements for pit membranes of circular bordered pits, collected on a mesomechanical testing system. The system consists of a quartz microprobe attached to a microforce sensor that is positioned and advanced with a micromanipulator mounted on an inverted microscope. Membrane displacement is measured from digital image analysis. Unaspirated pits from earlywood of never‐dried wood of L arix and P inus and aspirated pits from earlywood of dried wood of L arix were tested to generate force–displacement curves up to the point of membrane failure. Two failure modes were observed: rupture or tearing of the pit membrane by the microprobe tip, and the stretching of the pit membrane until the torus was forced out of the pit chamber through the pit aperture without rupture, a condition we refer to as torus prolapse.