Scientists from Russia and Belarus have developed a unique method for digital analysis of the properties of paper and cardboard, which allows the assessment of over 10 quality parameters of cellulose-paper products. According to the press service of the St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design (SPbSUITD), this development will enable enterprises to make changes to the material during the production stage.
“Scientists from the St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design, together with scientists from the Belarusian State Technological University, have developed a method for generating a 3D model of fiber microstructure for digital analysis of paper and cardboard properties. This model allows the assessment of over ten parameters that affect the quality of cellulose-based materials. This is the first digital method for assessing paper quality, characteristics of which are currently being tested using special equipment,” the announcement said.
According to the press service, the developed method allows for the assessment of porosity, roughness, volume, and uniformity of fiber distribution, as well as the formation of fibrous cellulose material and other important indicators. For example, absorbency of paper depends on porosity, which is an important parameter for napkins, while uniformity of formation affects the evenness of paper thickness. Additionally, the development will enable material mapping based on elemental composition, which also affects characteristics. For instance, chalk influences the whiteness and physical-mechanical properties of paper and cardboard, meaning that if there is too much chalk in the composition and it is unevenly distributed, the paper loses strength.
“To obtain the 3D microstructure of paper, we first create a high-quality cross-section using ionic cutting, allowing us to study not only the surface but also the microstructure of the cross-section of the paper. To obtain the fiber volume in the end, we make a series of such cuts at a known interval. Then, using a program for 3D design, we create a 3D model of the fiber microstructure from photos of cross-sections of paper,” said one of the authors of the development, the head of the Department of Engineering Graphics and Computer-Aided Design at SPbSUITD, Nikolay Midukov.
As stated by the university, the digital method can be implemented in any cellulose-paper production. In the future, scientists plan to transfer 3D models of microstructures of different types of paper and cardboard into virtual reality, allowing specialists to immerse themselves “inside” these materials to study their characteristics.