Over the past decades, natural fibers have become an important constituent in multiple engineering- and biomaterials. Their high specific strength, biodegradability, low-cost production, recycle-ability, vast availability and easy processing make them interesting for many applications. However, fiber swelling due to moisture uptake poses a key challenge, as it significantly affects the geometric stability and mechanical properties. To characterize the hygro-mechanical behavior of fibers in detail, a novel micromechanical characterization method is proposed which allows continuous full-field fiber surface displacement measurements during wetting and drying. A single fiber is tested under an optical height microscope inside a climate chamber wherein the relative humidity is changed to capture the fiber swelling behavior. These fiber topographies are, subsequently, analyzed with an advanced Global Digital Height Correlation methodology dedicated to extract the full three-dimensional fiber surface displacement field. The proposed method is validated on four different fibers: flat viscose, trilobal viscose, 3D-printed hydrogel and eucalyptus, each having different challenges regarding their geometrical and hygroscopic properties. It is demonstrated that the proposed method is highly robust in capturing the full-field fiber kinematics. A precision analysis shows that, for eucalyptus, at 90% relative humidity, an absolute surface strain precision in the longitudinal and transverse directions of, respectively, 1.2 × 10-4 and 7 × 10-4 is achieved, which is significantly better than existing techniques in the literature. The maximum absolute precision in both directions for the other three tested fibers is even better, demonstrating that this method is versatile for precise measurements of the hygro-expansion of a wide range of fibers. Graphic abstract

The dimensional stability of paper products is a well-known problem, affecting multiple engineering applications. The macroscopic response of paper to moisture variations is governed by complex mechanisms originating in the material at all length-scales down to the fiber-level. Therefore, a recently-developed method, based on Global Digital Height Correlation of surface topographies is here exploited to measure the full-field hygro-expansion of single fibers, i. e. a surface strain tensor map over the full field of view is obtained as function of time. From the strain field, the longitudinal and transverse hygro-expansion and principle strains can be calculated. Long- and intermediate-duration dynamic tests are conducted on softwood and hardwood fibers. A large spread in the softwood fiber’s transverse and longitudinal hygro-expansion coefficient ratio was found, while hardwood fibers behave more consistently. Computing the principle strain ratios reduces this spread, as it takes into account the variations of the deformation direction, which is directly affected by the micro-fibril angle (MFA). Furthermore, long-duration tests allow identification of the half-times at which the fibers equilibrate. Finally, the determined major strain angles for all fibers are consistent with the MFA ranges reported in the literature.

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Background 95% Of all metals and alloys are processed using strip rolling, explaining the great number of existing strip rolling optimization models. Yet, an accurate in-situ full-field experimental measurement method of the deformation, velocity and strain fields of the strip in the deformation zone is lacking. Objective Here, a novel time-Integrated Digital Image Correlation (t-IDIC) framework is proposed and validated that fully exploits the notion of continuous, recurring material motion during strip rolling. Methods High strain accuracy and robustness against unavoidable light reflections and missing speckles is achieved by simultaneously correlating many (e.g. 200) image pairs in a single optimization step, i.e. each image pair is correlated with the same average global displacement field but is multiplied by a unique velocity corrector to account for differences in material velocity between image pairs. Results Demonstration on two different strip rolling experiments revealed previously inaccessible subtle changes in the deformation and strain fields due to minor variations in pre-deformation, elastic recovery, and geometrical irregularities. The influence of the work roll force and entry/exit strip tension has been investigated for strip rolling with an industrial pilot mill, which revealed unexpected non-horizontal material feed. This asymmetry was reduced by increasing the entry strip tension and rolling force, resulting in a more symmetric strain distribution, while increased distance between the neutral and entry point was found for a larger rolling force. Conclusions The proposed t-IDIC method allows for robust and accurate characterization of the strip’s full-field behavior of the deformation zone during rolling, revealing novel insights in the material behavior.