Microstructural and chemical characterisation of softwood degradation by basidiomycetes and its effect on the mechanical behaviour

01.01.2011 - 30.06.2013
Globales Einzelvorhaben
The aim of this project is to enhance the current understanding of the effects of fungal decay on the microstructure of wood, and of the consequences of such decay processes on the macroscopic mechanical behavior of the material. For that purpose, pine sapwood samples degraded by one fungus (Gloeophyllum trabeum) causing brown rot or another fungus (Trametes versicolor) causing white rot decay will be investigated in this project at three different decay stages up to a mass loss of 10 %. Depending on the fungus, specific components of wood such as hemicelluloses, lignin, or cellulose will be degraded or modified to varying extents and through different degradative routes. These changes will be monitored here on the micro- and nanoscale without irreversibly disrupting the wood ultrastructure using non-destructive experimental techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and FT-IR microscopy, nanoindentation, and ultrasonic testing. These tests, combined with degradative chemical analyses, are expected to provide new insights into changes of wood composition and of the arrangement, rearrangement and interactions of the microstructural components within the degraded cell wall. Moreover, the combination of spectroscopic and chemical with mechanical test results will enable us to elucidate the interrelation of structure and mechanical performance of degraded wood materials to an extent never reached. The mechanical properties of degraded wood have so far neither been assessed in all three principal material directions, nor at the length scale of the cell wall, as it is planned in the current project. Particularly the combination of chemistry and micromechanics points out the innovative character of this proposal.

Personen

Projektleiter_in

Projektmitarbeiter_innen

Institut

Forschungsschwerpunkte

  • Biological and Bioactive Materials: 65%
  • Modeling and Simulation: 35%

Externe Partner_innen

  • Institut für Mechanik der Werkstoffe und Strukturen
  • Institut für Chemische Technologien und Analytik

Publikationen