Techniques for measuring cross-sectional area of plant fibers: A mini-review

Abstract

As more and more scientific studies look for sustainable industrial materials, plant fibres are increasingly recognized for their potential as environmentally friendly alternatives to synthetic fibres. However, one of the most important factors limiting their widespread use is the variability of their mechanical properties. One of the main causes of this variability is the difficulty of accurately measuring the cross-sectional area (CSA) of these fibres, since certain mechanical properties such as stress at break depend directly on it. Indeed, the determination of the CSA of plant fibres presents significant challenges due to the complexity of their morphology. This mini-review critically examines a range of methodologies employed to measure the CSA of plant fibres, from traditional optical microscopy to sophisticated digital reconstruction and automated laser scanning techniques. Each method influences the mechanical properties of fibres differently, affecting the reliability of results and complicating comparisons between different studies. As well as listing the different methods used, the study shows how the choice of measurement method can have a significant impact on the assessment of fibre mechanical properties. Finally, this review argues in favor of international harmonization of cross-sectional measurement methods for plant fibres, which could ultimately make the use of plant fibres more reliable in the industrial world.

Code and data availability

This is a mini-review of plant fiber cross-sectional area measurement techniques. The supplied blocks contain no public phenotype/trait datasets, author image/sensor data, analysis code, or trained models, and no data or code availability statements. All measurements and figures discussed are attributed to cited prior-

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