Insight into the influence of the anatomical properties of wood on the tribological properties.

Wood is a natural and clean material with lightweight and satisfactory mechanical properties and has been widely used at present. In order to better understand the relation between the anatomical properties and the tribological properties of wood, three representative kinds of wood have been used for experiments. The anatomical structure, extractives combined with the mechanical properties of the selected wood have been examined. A series of specially designed tribological experiments have also been carried out. The influence of the anatomical properties of wood on its tribological properties has been detailedly analyzed based on the experimental results. The results indicate that the tribological properties of wood were greatly influenced by its anatomical properties. Sufficient extractives can perfectly improve the tribological properties of wood by reducing the friction coefficient and enhancing the lubrication performance to improve the wear resistance. Besides, the anatomical structure also highly influenced the wear resistance of wood. Due to the thickest cell wall, the smallest diameter and the densest arrangement of the wood cells, additionally with the high content of resin and axunge, the Lignum vitae presented the best wear resistance. • The anatomical properties of wood highly influence its tribological properties. • Extracted resin and axunge can improve the tribological properties of wood. • High-density anatomical structure can improve the wear resistance of wood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]