Role of the gelatinous layer on the origin of the physical properties of the tension wood

Abstract

To discuss the role of the gelatinous layer (G-layer) on the origins of the physical properties peculiar to the tension wood fiber (TW fiber), the deformation process of an isolated TW fiber caused by a certain biomechanical state change was formulated mathematically. The mechanical model used in the present formulation is a four-layered hollow cylinder having the compound middle lamella (CML), the outer layer of the secondary wall (S1) and its middle layer (S2), and the G-layer (G) as an innermost layer. In the formulation, the reinforced matrix mechanism was applied to represent the mechanical interaction between the cellulose microfibril (CMF) as a framework bundle and the amorphous substance as a matrix skeleton in each layer. The model formulated in the present study is thought to be useful to investigate the origins of extensive longitudinal drying shrinkage, large tensile growth stress, and a high axial elastic modulus, which are rheological properties peculiar to the TW. In this article, the detailed process of the mathematical formulation is described. In a subsequent article, some TW properties from a 70-year-old Kohauchiwakaede (Acer sieboldianum Miq.) will be analyzed using the newly developed model.