Wood cell wall structure and organisation in relation to mechanics

Abstract

The wood cell wall, as well as the entire wood structure, is a highly intermixed assembly of biopolymers building up various structural elements. The understanding of the organisation of these wood polymers and their interaction is a key to be able to better utilise wood materials. The complexity of the wood cell wall is here discussed regarding the cellulose fibrillar network, the cellulose aggregate structure and the arrangement of the matrix polymers of hemicelluloses and lignin. The ability to model the wood cell wall properties, based on the structural organisation within different cell wall structures, and the difficulties in relating predictions to actual measurements of cell wall properties are described. The deficiencies regarding our structural knowledge in relation to mechanical properties are also being defined.