Method´s analysis of submicroscopy structure of wood cell wall determination

The content of this study is focused on the influence of the structure of wood at microscopic and submicroscopic level on its mechanical properties. The wood cell wall consists of several layers, the dominant layer being layer S2, which occupies up to 80 % of the total thickness of the wood cell wall. Unique feature of this layer is that cellulose microfibrils placed in this layer are highly aligned and spirally wound around the cell axis. The inclination of these microfibrils is called microfibril angle (MFA) and is the key feature that affects mechanical properties of wood and its shrinkage. In theoretical part of this thesis methods for measuring microfibril angle are described. A method for measuring mechanical properties of the wood cell wall called nanoindentation is discussed in detail. In the practical part of this thesis, microfibril angle is measured by means of polarized light microscopy and mechanical properties of wood cell wall is determined by means of nanoindentation