Nano X-ray tomography analysis of the cell-wall density of welded beech joints

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a novel approach using nano X-ray computed tomography (CT) for the non-invasive determination of the weld-line density profile of welded wood joints. As a case study, wood samples with a dimension of 2 mm × 2 mm × 20 mm were cut from a board of welded beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). The spatial resolution of the X-ray scan was 500 nm. Densitometry results showed that welding was accompanied by a considerable increase in the bulk density and a decrease in the cell-wall density at the weld-line. The cell-wall density in the weld-line was almost 33% less than that of the unaffected wood. As an additional application of nano computed tomography, the 3D imaging also revealed details of the internal structure of the welded sample. This study showed that nano-CT is a powerful tool for the descriptive and quantitative study of welded wood.

Keywords:

• Cell wall
• density
• Fagus sylvatica L
• friction welding

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.