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A comparison of nanoindentation cell wall hardness and Brinell wood hardness in jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.)

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Abstract

Nanoindentation is a powerful tool for hardness testing on a very small scale. Since the technique was first introduced for studying wood cell wall mechanics, it has been integrated as an important tool for measuring the modulus of elasticity and hardness of wood cell walls. In this study, hardness measured with nanoindentation (nanohardness) was compared with hardness measured by the standard Brinell test method (Brinell hardness) on jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) wood. Nanoindentation was performed on both the S2 layer of the secondary cell wall and the middle lamella (ML) of early- and latewood fibers. Four annual growth rings were studied. The influence of growth ring and initial spacing on both measurements was analyzed. The relationship between Brinell hardness, nanoindentation measurements, and average ring density was also studied. Results suggest that Brinell- and nanohardness are controlled by different mechanisms and factors. The location of nanohardness measurements (i.e., S2 layer or ML) also influenced hardness differently. It was concluded that nanomeasurements are not an exact representation of wood mechanical properties conducted at the macro level because of the hierarchical structure of wood. The effect of other factors such as moisture or wood extractive content may also need consideration.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by ForValueNet and NSERC (the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) Strategic Network. We would like to thank Michel Beaudoin, Université Laval, and Michèle Bernier-Cardou, Canadian Forest Service, for their constructive and critical comments that helped to improve the manuscript; Luciane Paes Torquato at Université Laval, and Katherine Concha and Paulina Valenzula at the Universidad del Bío-Bío for their nanoindentation work. We also thank Alain Cloutier and Alexis Achim at Université Laval for providing the opportunity for this study. Finally, special thanks are due to Denis Belley at Université Laval and Edwin Swift and his team at the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre in New Brunswick for the fieldwork.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département des sciences du bois et de la forêt, Université Laval, Pavillon Gene-H.-Kruger, Quebec, QC, G1K 7P4, Canada

    Manon Vincent

  2. Pulp, Paper and BioProducts, FPInnovations, Quebec, Canada

    Queju Tong

  3. Department of Forest Products, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden

    Nasko Terziev & Geoffrey Daniel

  4. Departamento de Ingeniería en Maderas, Biomaterials and Nanotechnology Center (CBN), Universidad del Bío-Bío, Concepción, Chile

    Cecilia Bustos & William Gacitúa Escobar

  5. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, Quebec, QC, G1V 4C7, Canada

    Isabelle Duchesne

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  1. Manon Vincent
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  3. Nasko Terziev
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  7. Isabelle Duchesne
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Correspondence to Manon Vincent.

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Vincent, M., Tong, Q., Terziev, N. et al. A comparison of nanoindentation cell wall hardness and Brinell wood hardness in jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.). Wood Sci Technol 48, 7–22 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-013-0580-5

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