Study of physical-mechanical properties and microstructure of wood materials at different scale levels

The results of a complex of studies of the physical-mechanical properties of wood (using Scots pine - Pinus sylvestris L. as an example) at the nano-, micro- and macrolevels are considered and their relationship with the anatomical structure at these levels is shown. The size effects in wood hardness, as well as their similarity and difference for early and late wood within annual rings, are revealed. Using the nanoindentation and scratch-test methods, the hardness and Young's modulus distribution profiles are constructed and their relationship with the structure of annual wood rings is shown. By the methods of SEM-image analysis of the cellular structure, density distribution profiles within annual wood rings were obtained and their correlation with the distribution profiles of physical-mechanical properties was determined. This makes it possible to use the obtained data both for solving materials science problems and for other areas of science, such as dendrochronology, dendroclimatology, etc.