The load carrying capacity of interbre joints are one of the key entities for build-up of strength inpaper materials. In order to gain insight in how to tailor the macroscopic properties of such materialsby chemical and/or mechanical treatments at a microscopic level, direct measurement of individualbre{bre crosses are typically performed. However, the state of loading in the interbre joint, intesting of individual bre{bre crosses, is in general very complex and an increased understandingfor how to evaluate the mechanical properties of interbre joints is desirable. In Paper A, amethod for manufacturing and measuring the strength of isolated interbre joints is presented. Themethod is applied to investigate the strength of bre{bre crosses at two dierent modes of loading.Also, an investigation on the manufacturing conditions is presented. The strength distribution ofindividually prepared bre{bre crosses is characterized and it was found that the median strengthin a peeling type of loading was about 20% compared to samples tested in the conventional shearingtype of loading. In Paper B, a procedure for evaluating interbre joint strength measurementsin terms of resultant forces and moments in the interbre joint region is presented. The methodis applied to investigate the state of loading in bre{bre crosses tested in peeling and shearing,respectively. It is shown that for a typical interbre joint strength test, the load components otherthan shear, cannot in general be neglected and is strongly dependent on the structural geometry ofthe bre{bre crosses. In Paper C, four distinctly dierent load cases; peeling, shearing, tearingand a biaxial type of loading was tested mechanically and evaluated numerically in order to gainmore information on how interbre joints behave in dierent modes of loading. In Paper D, thein uence of a chemical additive on the interbre joint strength is investigated on the microscopic(joint) scale and correlated to the eect previously observed on the macroscopic (sheet) scale. Xraymicrotomography and image analysis was used to understand structural changes in the brousnetwork in terms of the number of interbre joints as well as the average interbre joint contact area.The results showed that the median interbre joint strength increased by 18% upon adsorption, andthat the polyelectrolyte increased the number of contacts between the bres as well as an increasedarea of contact. In Paper E, the damage behaviour of individual interbre joints is analyzed. Froman extensive number of mechanical tests, the typical damage behaviour is identied and a failurecriterion is used to study the in uence of failure properties to give indications on how to tailor thematerial to optimize the joint strength. / En av de viktigaste mekanismerna for den lastbarande formagan hos pappersmaterial ar brottegenskapernahos berfogarna. For att eektivt skraddarsy sadana materials egenskaper genom kemiskoch/eller mekanisk behandling samt for att forsta hur sadana modieringar paverkar egenskapernapa en mikroskopisk niva ar provning av individuella ber-ber-kors en allmant anvand metod. Belastningeni en berfog vid sadan provning ar dock generellt komplicerad och ytterligare kunskapom hur berfogars mekaniska egenskaper skall utvarderas ar onskvard. I Artikel A, presenterasen metod for tillverkning samt mekanisk provning av isolerade ber-kors vid tva olika typer avbelastning. Vidare undersoks hur torktrycket, torkmetoden samt graden av malning inverkar pafogstyrkan. Resultaten visar att brottlasten for en globalt akande belastning var omkring 20 % avbrottlasten for prov utforda med den konventionella skjuvande belastningen samt att styrkan hosindividuellt tillverkade berkors ar fordelade enligt en Weibull fordelning. I Artikel B, presenterasen numerisk metod for utvardering av fogstyrke-matningar med avseende pa kraft- och momentresultanternai gransytan mellan brerna. Metoden anvands for att studera belastningsmoden hosber-kors i tva principiellt olika lastfall. Resultaten visar att for ett typiskt berfogsprov, kan intelastkomponenterna, vid sidan av skjuvning, generellt forsummas da de ar starkt beroende avber-korsets geometri. I Artikel C, jamfors fogstyrkematningar under fyra principiellt olika lastfall; akande, skjuvande, rivande samt biaxiellt. De experimentella last-forskjutningskurvorna, samtde beraknade lastmoderna anvands for att undersoka vilket tillskott pa information de foreslagnalastfallen kan ge i hansyn till fogstyrkan hos massabrer. I Artikel D, undersoks en polymers (somabsorberats pa berytorna) inverkan pa saval berniva som pa natverksniva. Fiberfogstyrkan matsexperimentellt och eekten av den kemiska tillsatsen jamfors pa mikroskopisk niva (ber-kors) medtidigare uppmatt eekt pa makroskopisk niva (ark). Rontgentomogra och bildanalys anvands foratt undersoka de strukturella skillnaderna som uppstar i de brosa natverken vid absorption av enpolyamin och resultaten visar att antalet berfogar per berlangdenhet samt att medelkontaktareanokade. Resultaten visar ocksa att medianen av berfogsstyrkan okade med 18 %. Dessa eekter sammantagetar anledningen till varfor polyaminer, sasom PAH, ar sa eektiva for att oka torrstyrkanhos pappersmaterial. I Artikel E, karakteriseras skadebeteendet hos individuella berfogar franett omfattande antal matningar. Ett brottkriterium infors i den numeriska utvarderingsmetoden foratt studera skadebeteendet. Kanslighetsanalys och inverkan av brottparametrarna studeras ocksafor att ge indikationer pa hur egenskaperna kan skraddarsys for att optimera berfogstyrkan. / <p>QC 20140527</p> / BiMaC Innovation

Recent experimental findings have demonstrated great mechanical properties of nanopaper compared to ordinary paper. In this work, we have studied the formation of the elastic modulus of paper. Our goal was to investigate the contribution of fibers, fiber bonds and network structure. A 2D finite element network model was developed to study the elastic properties of nanopaper. The model can handle very dense networks of large sizes. Networks were composed of bonded, curved and randomly oriented fibers. The fiber interaction was modeled with a bonding contact. The numerical analysis was compared with theoretical models available in the literature and experimental measurements. Analysis showed that the fiber stiffness, density and the aspect ratio are the most influential parameters of those investigated with dense isotropic networks. The bond activation and fiber curl affect the modulus only in relatively sparse networks. / Aktuella experimentella mätresultat visar att "nanopapper" (papper som är gjort av nanocellulosa) kan ha överlägsna mekaniska egenskaper jämfört med ett vanligt papper. I detta arbete har vi studerat hur de elastiska egenskaperna hos nanopapper påverkas av fibrer, fiberinteraktioner och pappersstruktur. En 2D finit-element modell har utvecklats för att studera de elastiska egenskaperna hos nanopapper. Modellen kan analysera mycket stora pappersark med hög densitet. Papperet representerades med krökta slumpmässigt ordnade fibrer bundna till varandra. Interaktionen mellan fibrerna modellerades kontakten mellan fibrerna modellerades med en penalty-metod. Resultaten från numeriska beräkningar jämfördes med olika teoretiska modeller och experimentella mätningar. Analysen visade att fiberstyvhet, densitet och fiberstorleksförhållandet är de enda av de undersökta parametrarna som påverkade de elastiska egenskaperna hos isotropt nanopapper med hög densitet. Så kallad "bindningsaktivering" och fibrernas krökning påverkade E-modulen bara hos ett relativt glest papper.

This study explores the performance of porous Paptic paper materials composed of a mixture of softwood and lyocell fibers. The investigation involves laboratory experiments and numerical simulations to analyse the impact of various parameters on the paper's characteristics. Tensile and hygroexpansion tests were conducted on sheets with different binder quantities and drying methods. VTT aided in the analysis of mechanical properties using tomography images. The objective was to determine the optimal binder content, to understand the behaviour of the paper under different drying conditions and to optimise the pulp mixture through numerical simulations. Experimental tests involved producing paper sheets with varying binder amounts and different drying methods. Tensile tests were conducted to assess the elastic stiffness, strength, and strain at break. Constrained dried and freely dried papers were compared to evaluate the influence of drying conditions. Hygroexpansion tests were performed to examine the water storage behaviour of papers with added binders. Tomography measurements provided the density profile, which was replicated in the numerical sheets. A micro-mechanical model was employed for numerical simulations, representing each fiber as a beam. The model was calibrated using stress-strain data from VTT's tensile testing of the paper with the highest binder content. The influence of altering the amount and length of lyocell fibers was examined to optimise the pulp. From the tensile tests, an optimal binder content was identified that yielded the highest elastic stiffness while considering the density increase caused by binders. Further additions of binders did not enhance elastic stiffness. However, no optimal value was found for strength and strain at break, as both parameters continued to increase with additional binders. Tensile tests comparing constrained dried and freely dried papers showed similar behaviour, suggesting inadequate constraint in the former. Hygroexpansion tests confirmed the similarities between the two drying methods and revealed that papers with added binders stored less water at a given humidity. Additionally, the drying-moistening cycling exhibited an unusual behaviour not observed in conventional paper, with irreversible expansion occurring during the first drying cycle. Numerical simulations using a micro-mechanical model demonstrated that higher amounts of lyocell fibers improved performance, increasing strength and strain at break. However, varying fiber length did not yield significant improvements in these parameters, although stiffness showed a slight increase. While the literature suggests that the addition of long lyocell fibers decreases paper strength, this study found that when maintaining constant bulk, strength increased under the assumption that the bonding strength was unaffected by lyocell fibers. Furthermore, numerical simulations indicated that an even density profile throughout the paper thickness resulted in higher strength and strain at break. The tomography data revealed that the density profile is affected by the binder quantity. With the addition of binders, the thickness decreased even though the grammage increased. The density is high on the top and bottom surface of the papers which contain more binders while the density is lower in the middle. This difference in density is more pronounced with higher amounts of binders. / Denna studie undersöker prestandan hos porösa pappersmaterial från Paptic som består av en blandning av barrträd och lyocell-fibrer. Undersökningen innefattar laboratorieexperiment och numeriska simuleringar för att analysera effekten av olika parametrar på papperets egenskaper. Drag- och hygroexpansionstester utfördes på ark med olika mängder bindemedel och torkningsmetoder. VTT hjälpte till med analysen av mekaniska egenskaper genom tomografibilder. Målet var att bestämma optimalt innehåll av bindemedel, att förstå papperets beteende under olika torkningsförhållanden och att optimera pappersmassan genom numeriska simuleringar.  De experimentella testerna innefattade framställning av pappersark med varierande mängder bindemedel och olika torkningsmetoder. Dragtester utfördes för att bedöma elastisk styvhet, styrka och töjning vid brott. Inspännt samt fritt torkade papper jämfördes för att utvärdera inflytandet av torkningsförhållanden. Hygroexpansionstester utfördes för att undersöka vattenlagringsbeteendet hos papper med tillsatt bindemedel. Tomografimätningar gav papprens densitetsprofilen, som återskapades i de numeriska arken. En mikromekanisk modell användes för de numeriska simuleringarna, där varje fiber representeras som en balk. Modellen kalibrerades med hjälp av spännings-töjnings-data från VTT:s dragprovning av papperet med högst mängd bindemedel. Inflytandet av att ändra mängden och längden på lyocell-fibrer undersöktes för att optimera pappersmassan.  Från dragtesterna identifierades en optimal mängd bindemedel som gav högst elastisk styvhet när den densitetsökning som orsakas av bindemedel har tagits till hänsyn. Ytterligare tillsatser av bindemedel förbättrade inte den elastiska styvheten. Dock hittades ingen optimal värde för styrka och brottsträckning, eftersom båda parametrarna fortsatte öka med ytterligare bindemedel. Dragtester som jämförde inspännt och fritt torkat papper visade liknande beteende, vilket tyder på otillräcklig begränsning i det förstnämnda fallet. Hygroexpansionstester bekräftade likheterna mellan de två torkningsmetoderna och avslöjade att papper med tillsatt bindemedel lagrade mindre vatten vid en given luftfuktighet. Dessutom uppvisade torknings-fuktnings-cykeln ett ovanligt beteende som inte observerats i konventionellt papper, där irreversibel expansion inträffade under den första torkningscykeln. Numeriska simuleringar med en mikromekanisk modell visade att högre mängder lyocell-fibrer förbättrade prestandan genom att öka styrka och töjning vid brott. Ändringar i fibrernas längd gav dock inte märkvärda förbättringar i dessa parametrar, även om styvheten visade en liten ökning. Medan litteraturen föreslår att tillsatsen av långa lyocell-fibrer minskar papperets styrka, fann denna studie att när densiteten hålls konstant ökar styrkan under antagandet att bindestyrkan inte påverkas av lyocell-fibrer. Dessutom indikerade de numeriska simuleringarna att en jämn densitetsprofil genom papperets tjocklek resulterade i högre styrka och töjning vid brott. Tomografidata visade att densitetsprofilen påverkas av mängden bindemedel. När mängden bindemedel ökade, minskade tjockleken trots att ytvikten ökade. Densiteten är hög på papperets över- och undersida, medan densiteten är lägre i mitten. Skillnaden i densitet är mer uttalad med högre mängder bindemedel.

Thermography is a non-destructive technique which uses infrared radiation to obtain the temperature distribution of an object. The technique is increasingly used in the pulp and paper industry. To convert the detected infrared radiation to a temperature, the emittance of the material must be known. For several influencing parameters the emittance of paper and board has not previously been studied in detail. This is partly due to the lack of emittance measurement methods that allow for studying the influence of these parameters. An angle-resolved goniometric method for measuring the infrared emittance of a material was developed in this thesis. The method is based on the reference emitter methodology, and uses commercial infrared cameras to determine the emittance. The method was applied to study the dependence on wavelength range, temperature, observation angle, moisture ratio, sample composition, and sample structure of the emittance of paper and board samples. It was found that the emittance varied significantly with wavelength range, observation angle and moisture ratio. The emittance was significantly higher in the LWIR (Long-Wavelength Infrared) range than in the MWIR (Mid-Wavelength Infrared) range. The emittance was approximately constant up to an observation angle of 60° in the MWIR range and 70° in the LWIR range, respectively. After that it started to decrease. The emittance of moist samples was significantly higher than that of dry samples. The influence of moisture ratio on the emittance could be estimated based on the moisture ratio of the sample, and the emittance of pure water and dry material, respectively. The applicability of measured emittance values was demonstrated in an investigation of the mechanical properties of sack paper samples. An infrared camera was applied to monitor the generation of heat during a tensile test of a paper sample. It was found that the observed increase in thermal energy at the time of rupture corresponded well to the value of the elastic energy stored in the sample just prior to rupture. The measured emittance value provided an increased accuracy in the thermal energy calculation based on the infrared images. / <p>QC 20121121</p>