Pore structure characterization of oak via X-ray computed tomography

Abstract

The microscopic pore structure of wood is an important factor that affects its macroscopic properties. In this study, an oak sample was used for pore structure characterization. X-ray computed tomography imaging was carried out, and the scanning results (a multi-layer two-dimensional planar image) were rendered using Avizo software (a three-dimensional stereo image). A digital image processing method was used to identify the characteristics of the three-dimensional pore structure features and to calculate the characteristic parameters, i.e., the porosity (volume/surface), pore area and volume, pore size distribution, and the connectivity. The 27 mm3 oak sample had the following characteristics: a pore size which ranged from 8.56 µm to 1262.84 µm; a pore volume of 1.01 × 1010 µm3; a pore area and volume porosity of 1.12 × 109 µm2 and 37.6%, respectively; a surface porosity range of approximately 36.1% to 39.1%; a pore diameter for axial connection ranging from approximately 164.57 µm to 1262.84 µm; and had corresponding proportions of the pore area and volume of approximately 74.4% and 67.3%, respectively. This information provided useful structural data for the construction of future models.