In situ observations of fracture mechanisms for radial cracks in wood

This paper presents the findings of work carried out to describe the micromechanisms of radial crack growth in wood. TR and TL cracks are both radial cracks but TR grows radially and TL longitudinally. TR cracks are known to show higher fracture toughness than TL cracks. The TR fracture surfaces also indicate a more tortuous crack path. Since the reason for this is unclear, details of the TR crack growth mechanisms in green Pinus sylvestris L were studied. This was done by in-situ optical microscopy as the crack was cutting through alternating layers of soft earlywood and stiff latewood. At the scale of individual cells, the crack tip advanced by separating cell walls at the middle lamella in a splitting or peeling mode. At the scale of growth rings, stick-slip type of crack growth was observed and new crack planes were often formed. The stress distribution in a material with alternating stiff and soft layers is causing this. This stress distribution also contributes to the tendency for inclined cracks to deviate in the radial direction. For interpretation of fracture mechanisms, the importance of scale interaction and the combined influences of microstructure and stress state are emphasized. (C) 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers.