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The Elongation Potential of Paper – How Should Fibres be Deformed to Make

Paper Extensible?

Article in BioResources · February 2013

DOI: 10.15376/biores.8.1.472-486

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The Elongation Potential of Paper How Should Fibres

be Deformed to Make Paper Extensible?
Xiling Zeng,a,* Alexey Vishtal,b Elias Retulainen,b Eino Sivonen,c and Shiyu Fu a

Elongation at failure is an important but underrated functional property of

paper. Traditionally, elongation has been of specific importance for sack
and bag paper grades. Mechanical treatments at high consistency are
known to induce fibre deformations that contribute to the elongation of
paper. However, it is not clear to what extent different fibre deformations
can improve the elongation of paper. The aim of this work was to
investigate the influence of three mechanical treatments on fibre and
paper properties. The wing defibrator, the E-compactor, and the Valley
beater were used for treating chemical softwood pulp. It was found that
the type and intensity of mechanical treatments significantly affect the
formation of fibre deformations, and thus the resulting properties of
paper. The combination of high-consistency wing defibrator treatment
and subsequent low-consistency valley beating provided paper with high
elongation potential and good strength properties without impairing the
dewatering properties.

Keywords: Elongation; Fibre deformations; Microcompressions; Shrinkage; Tensile strength

Contact information: a: State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of
Technology, No.381 Wushan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510640, China, b: VTT Technical
Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1603, Koivurannantie 1, Jyväskylä, 40101 Finland, c: VTT
Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1300, Sinitaival 6, Tampere 33101 Finland;
*Corresponding author: [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

The mechanical properties of paper have been the subject of research since the
rise of modern papermaking. Conventionally, tensile strength has been the primary target
of improvement, while the other properties have been somewhat underrated. The
elongation of paper is one of these underrated properties. In principle, elongation is the
ability of material to increase its linear length under the action of external mechanical
forces; the increase in the linear length is attributed to elastic and plastic deformations
(Levlin and Söderhjelm 1999). This property increases the tensile energy absorption
(TEA) potential of paper, which is defined as the integral of the tensile force and
specimen elongation up to the point of failure, and is important for runnability of the web
on the paper machine and in the printing house (Hristopulos and Uesaka 2002; Uesaka
2005; Deng et al. 2007), and for converting operations of paper and paperboard (Gärd
2002; Post et al. 2011; Östlund et al. 2011). Elongation of paper is also one of the central
components of formability of paper-based materials (Vishtal and Retulainen 2012). The
elongation potential of paper relies on three principal factors: properties of single fibres,
the character of interfibre bonds between them, and the structure of the fibre network
formed in the papermaking and converting processes (Dumbleton 1972; Page et al. 1985;
Seth 1996; Welsh 1965). However, when the fibres have sufficient bonding, the
elongation of a typical fibre network is primarily dependent on the single-fibre properties

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(Seth 2005). Mechanical treatments of fibres at high consistency are known to induce
fibre deformations that contribute to the elongation potential of the paper (Page et al.
1985, Seth 2005). Gentle laboratory beating at low consistency tends to straighten and
lengthen fibres, reducing fibre deformation (Mohlin et al 1996; Seth 2005; Seth 2006).
The combination of the high- and low-consistency refining is also known as a method to
improve the elongation and tensile energy absorption of the paper at low airflow
resistance (Sjöberg and Höglund, 2005 and 2007). This approach is used for production
of sack and bag grades of paper in the industry. Also, compressive treatment at high
consistency has been shown to be a potential fibre treatment to improve strength
properties of paper. It causes different types of deformations in axial and transverse
dimensions of fibres (Hartman 1985; El-Sharkawy 2008). However, there is still a lack of
information in scientific literature on the subject of how mechanical treatments of
different type and intensity affect the fibre deformations and the stress-strain properties of
paper, and how the other essential paper properties are affected.
The influence of the mechanical treatments with three different devices, the wing
defibrator (high consistency, HC), a compressive E-compactor (HC), and a Valley beater
(low consistency, LC), on fibre and paper properties was investigated in this work. The
combination of HC wing defibrator treatment and subsequent LC Valley beating was also
studied. The effect of these treatments on fibre properties and zero-span tensile strength
has been reported in a recent publication (Zeng et al. 2012).

EXPERIMENTAL

Materials
The fibre raw material used in the study was first-thinning bleached pine kraft
pulp obtained as pulp sheets from the Pietarsaari mill of UPM-Kymmene. The chemical
composition and fibre properties of the first-thinning pulp are quite close to those of
conventional once-dried softwood market kraft pulps.

Methods

Mechanical treatments
Three different mechanical devices were used to treat the fibres: the wing
defibrator (HC), the E-compactor (HC), and the Valley beater (LC). Figure 1 shows
schematic illustrations of the wing defibrator and E-compactor devices.

A B
Fig. 1. Schematic illustrations of the wing defibrator (A) (Sundström et al. 1993) and the E-
compactor (B)

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Wing defibrator treatment
The wing defibrator is a high-intensity mixer fitted with four rotating blades; its
primary utilization is in the preparation of mechanical pulp (Sundström et al. 1993). Each
batch of 150 g (oven-dry) pulp was adjusted to a consistency of approximately 35%
before the mechanical treatment. The rotation speed was 750 rpm, and the gap between
the blades and the stator bars was 1 mm. There was a 20-minute pre-heating period. The
jacket and chamber of the wing defibrator were heated by direct streaming. The
condensate from the heating steam decreased the consistency of the pulp during the pre-
heating phase. The conditions of the wing defibrator treatment are summarized in Table
1. The pure heating treatment without a mechanical treatment took place in an oil bath
under similar conditions

Table 1. Conditions in the Wing Defibrator Treatment

Sample SEC*, kWh/t Temp. °C DS** after treatment, %

Untreated/Preheated 110°C 0 110 35.6

B 243 110 25.6
C 297 110 21.4
D 418 110 21.6
E 657 110 22.1
F 1129 110 21.7
Untreated/Preheated 170°C 0 170 35.5
G 128 170 9.9
H 612 170 9.2
*Specific energy consumption, **DS-dry solids content

E-compactor treatment
The E-compactor (Fig. 1B) is a device with two rotating cogwheels that employs
both compressive and hydraulic forces to press fibres through conical holes. It was
developed at VTT Tampere. The fibres were treated at 30% consistency by passing them
once or twice through the E-compactor with conical holes of 2 mm in diameter.

Valley beater treatment

The applied beating procedure was in accordance with the SCAN-C 25:76 method.
Pulp measuring 360 g (oven-dried weight) was used for one batch in Valley beater and
was diluted to the 23 L of total volume, giving a consistency of 1.57 g/L. The pulp was
disintegrated in the beater without a load for 30 minutes. The disintegrated sample was
defined as untreated fibres sample. Then, pulp samples of 2 L were taken after 15,
30, 45, and 60 min of beating.

Combined high consistency (HC) and low consistency (LC) treatment

The combined HC and LC treatment included a wing defibrator treatment (WD)
followed by a Valley beating (VB). The refining conditions for HC treatment are shown
in Table 2, and LC beating was performed according to the SCAN-C 25:76. The SR
number after the Valley beating was 23. The conditions used in the HC-refining are
shown in the Table 2.

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Table 2. The Conditions for HC Wing Defibrator Treatment
Parameter Value
Refining gap 1 mm
Starting pulp consistency 30%
Temperature in refining 110°C
Preheating time 5 min
Rotation speed 750 rpm
Specific energy consumption 566 kWh/t

Fibre and pulp analysis

Fibre samples (approx. 0.1 g oven-dry mass) were taken for the automated fibre
analysis with the STFI Fibermaster by Lorentzen & Wettre. Fibre parameters, including
fibre length, fibre width, fibre curl, kinks, and fines content were analysed. The
dewatering properties were characterised by the Schopper Riegler number (SR number)
and the water retention value (WRV) in accordance with the ISO 5267-1 and SCAN-C
62:00 standards, respectively.
The fibre samples were unstained and observed under a light microscope
(Olympus BX50) using transmitted light. The polarized mode was used for analysis, in
which the angle positions of polarizer and analyser were varied.
A scanning electron microscope (SEM, LEO DSM 982 Gemini FEG-SEM,
NORAN Instruments, Inc.) was used for inspecting the surface structure of the
handsheets. Paper samples (ca. 10 mm 10 mm) were attached on carbon adhesive discs
(12 mm) pressed on 12.5 mm aluminium stubs. A thin layer (ca. 10 nm) of platinum was
sputter coated on each sample surface prior to analysis. The SEM analyses of the samples
were conducted using an acceleration voltage of 1.0 keV or 2.0 keV.

Handsheet preparation
Handsheets were prepared according to SCAN-C 26. In addition to standard plate
drying, a second set of handsheets were air-dried between two wire fabrics that had a gap
of around 1 to 3 mm, which allows free shrinkage of the handsheets without excessive
cockling or curling.

Paper properties analysis

The strength properties of the handsheets, including tensile strength, elongation,
tensile energy absorption (TEA), and tensile stiffness, were determined using a universal
material-testing device (LR10K, LLOYD Instruments) in accordance with SCAN-P38.
Light scattering coefficient of handsheets was determined in accordance with ISO-9416.
The procedure applied for shrinkage potential measurement can be described as
follows: Handsheets were marked after wet pressing by making holes using a square plate
with awls at each corner. The four punched holes defined a square with a known
perimeter. After this, the handsheets were allowed to dry and shrink freely. The extent of
shrinkage was calculated from the change of the perimeter using a high-resolution
scanner and special software. Equation (1) was used for the calculation of the shrinkage,

Lw Ld
Shrinkage 100% (1)
Lw

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where Lw is the perimeter of the rectangular perimeter in the handsheet before drying and
Ld is the perimeter of the dried handsheet.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Fibre Properties
The effects of the wing defibrator and Valley beater treatment on the fibre
properties and dewatering properties of pulp can be found in a previous publication (Zeng
et al. 2012). The treatment of pulp using the E-compactor device brought about drastic
changes in the fibre structure, which can be seen in Table 3.

Table 3. Fibre Parameters, Water Retention Value, and Drainage Properties of

E-Compactor Treated Pulp
Fibre length, Fibre width, Shape SR WRV,
Sample Kink/mm Fines,%
mm µm factor, % number g/g
Untreated 2.05 29.6 82.1 0.69 6.0 14 1.03
1 pass 1.25 30.6 82.8 0.93 8.5 8 1.16
2 passes 1.13 30.9 82.9 0.97 10.5 9 1.27

E-compactor results in Table 3 show that fibre length was reduced by as much as
40% even though the fibres were passed through the E-compactor only once. Fibre width
was increased because of the flattening and collapse of fibres. Kinks were induced to
fibres during the E-compactor treatment. It can be concluded that E-compactor treatment
caused severe fibre deformations and damage, such as fibre flattening, squashing, and
fibre cutting.
The influence of HC wing defibrator treatment and subsequent LC valley beating
on the fibre properties can be seen in the Table 4.

Table 4. The Effect of HC Wing Defibrator Treatment and Subsequent LC Valley

Beating on Fibre Parameters and Drainage Resistance
Fibre Fibre Shape Fines, SR
Sample Kink/mm
length, mm width, µm factor, % % number
Untreated 2.05 29.6 82.1 0.69 6.0 14
HC wing defibrator 1.90 30.0 79.6 0.87 8.5 14
HC wing defibrator
1.97 29.2 85.8 0.31 9.8 23
+LC Valley beater

In Table 4 it can be clearly seen that the HC wing defibrator treatment created
deformations (curl and kinks) in the fibres, while the subsequent LC beating straightened
the fibres, released fibre curl and kinks, and increased the swelling of the fibres. Fines
content was increased by both of the mechanical treatments.
Polarized light microscopy was used for the evaluation of the fibre deformations
caused by the different types of mechanical treatment. The emphasis in this study was on
the identification and characterization of microcompressions in fibres. The polarized
images allow for better observation of the changes in the fibre structure caused by the
mechanical treatments. Figure 2 shows polarized images of the untreated, HC wing
defibrator treated fibres, and combined HC wing defibrator and LC valley beater treated
fibres.

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Fig. 2. Polarized (45° polarizer/90° analyser) images (A) untreated fibres, (B) high-consistency
wing defibrator treated fibres, and (C) fibres after combined HC wing defibrator and LC Valley
beater treatments

The microcompressions and dislocations can be observed as high-contrast lines

perpendicular to the axis of the fibre (Thygesen and Ander 2005). Untreated fibres
showed only some microcompressions, though dislocation zones, kinks, and curl were

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present. HC wing defibrator treated fibres showed more severe dislocations and also
microcompressions. The combined HC wing defibrator and LC valley beater treated
fibres tend to have less dislocation zones but also a considerable number of
microcompressions could be seen. This suggests that microcompressions can be
preserved well during the LC beating, even though LC beating is able to straighten fibres
and release fibre curl and kinks, as previously mentioned.

Paper Properties
The properties of the restrained-dried and freely-dried handsheets made of wing
defibrator treated fibres are summarized in Table 5a and 5b, respectively.

Table 5a. Handsheet (restrained drying) Properties from the Wing Defibrator
Treated Pulp
Tensile TEA Tensile
SEC, Density, Scattering Elongation,
Temp.,°C index, index, stiffness,
kWh/t kg/m3 coeff.,m 2/kg %
Nm/g J/g Nm/g
0 527 33.9 20.4 2.76 0.45 3695
243 599 26.8 31.12 4.01 0.96 4008
297 609 25.9 35.42 4.33 1.17 4372
110
418 610 25.9 35.77 4.35 1.17 4206
657 637 23.9 41.22 4.71 1.47 4937
1129 644 23.3 47.14 4.83 1.70 5455
0 527 32.9 16.52 1.6 0.20 3512
170 128 470 36.5 11.28 2.27 0.20 1986
612 486 36.1 12.13 2.42 0.23 2080

Table 5b. Handsheet (free drying) Properties from the Wing Defibrator Treated
Pulp
Tensile TEA Tensile
SEC, Density,
Temp.,°C 3 index, Elongation, % index, stiffness, Shrinkage, %
kWh/t kg/m
Nm/g J/g Nm/g
0 500 17.59 5.35 0.72 2067 2.91
243 538 25.43 7.38 1.35 1956 3.06
297 517 27.12 7.68 1.45 1875 3.73
110
418 522 29.76 8.32 1.71 1989 3.48
657 539 32.94 9.05 2.02 2040 4.17
1129 558 37.58 8.76 2.17 2219 4.08
0 502 14.12 3.17 0.34 2013 2.24
170 128 461 8.51 4.48 0.3 999 3.2
612 477 10.24 5.33 0.43 1120 3.54

For the handsheets dried under restraint, the density increased and the light
scattering coefficient decreased with increasing specific energy consumption in wing
defibrator treatment at 110°C. This reduction in light scattering coefficient indicates that
there was an increase in the number and area of fibre bonds in the sheets. Tensile index,

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TEA, and tensile stiffness all increased with the increase in specific energy consumption
(110°C). Preheating of pulp caused a decrease in paper density, probably due to the
reduced fibre flexibility caused by hornification type of effect (Zeng et al. 2012).
Preheating of pulp at 170°C had a clear negative effect on the tensile strength, tensile
stiffness, and elongation of the sheet. At 110°C the elongation of freely dried handsheets
was as high as 9%. Although a rather high amount of refining energy was needed to reach
that level, the SR number was as low as 15 (Zeng et al. 2012).

Table 6. Handsheets (restrained drying and free drying) Properties of E-

Compactor Treated Pulp
Scattering Tensile TEA Tensile
Dryin Density, Elongat Shrinkage,
Samples coeff., index, index, stiffness,
g type kg/m3 2 ion, % %
m /kg Nm/g J/g Nm/g
Restrained

Untreated 513 34.7 18.05 2.15 0.31 3098 -

drying

1 pass 535 26.9 17.91 2.22 0.29 3038 -

2 passes 516 25.3 18.77 2.25 0.32 3270 -
Untreated 500 34.6 15.89 4.23 0.51 1939 2.52
drying
Free

1 pass 480 26.5 14.24 4.01 0.43 1506 3.24

2 passes 465 25.6 14.41 4.19 0.45 1461 3.36

Mechanical properties of the paper made of fibres that had been treated using the
E-compactor can be found in Table 6. The stress-strain properties of the handsheets did
not essentially improve with E-compactor treatment, even though the treatment caused
severe damage and shortening of fibres as previously mentioned. The negative effects
were partially covered by the improved bonding and sheet density caused by the fibre
flattening and increased amount of fines in pulp. In general, the increased number of fibre
kinks caused by E-compactor treatment did not contribute to any improvements in
strength properties of paper. It seems that the applied compressive E-compactor treatment,
in addition to weakening fibres, also caused excessive deformations that were not able to
improve elongation or bring any other benefits for the paper. Thus, the E-compactor
treatment does not warrant any further analysis or discussion.

Table 7. Properties of Handsheets (restrained drying and free drying) Prepared

from Valley Beaten Pulp
Refining Tensile TEA Tensile
Drying Density, Scattering Elongat Shrinkage,
time, 3 2 index, index, stiffness,
type kg/m coeff. m /kg ion, % %
min Nm/g J/g Nm/g
0 513 34.7 18.05 2.15 0.31 3098 -
Restrained

15 625 26.0 64.08 3.77 1.75 6613 -

drying

30 664 23.3 82.44 3.73 2.16 7587 -

45 700 21.0 87.59 3.55 2.18 8247 -
60 734 18.5 101.65 3.64 2.45 9382 -
0 500 34.6 15.89 4.23 0.51 1939 2.52
Free drying

15 563 25.6 53.43 6.84 2.17 2880 3.15

30 568 21.8 69.17 8.21 3.13 2568 3.93
45 571 19.2 75.53 9.07 3.75 2637 4.89
60 571 17.0 78.95 10.7 4.42 2167 5.88

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The mechanical properties of the handsheets prepared from the pulp treated in the
Valley beater are shown in Table 7. The density of paper increased and the light
scattering coefficient decreased significantly with Valley beating. An increase in the
tensile strength of handsheets can be explained by the improved interfibre bonding, as
well as by the fact that in addition to the improved straightness, the fibres also have a
better load-bearing ability in the fibre network. Extensive beating resulted in elongation
of freely dried sheets as high as 10.7%. However, these improvements were associated
with the strongly impaired drainage, which is indicated by the considerable increase of
SR number. SR number was 79 for the 60 min beaten pulp (Zeng et al. 2012).

Table 8. Properties of Handsheets (restrained drying and free drying) Prepared

from the HC Wing Defibrator and Subsequent Valley Beater Treated Pulp
Tensile TEA Tensile
Drying Density, Elongation Shrinkage
Samples Index, Index, Stiffness,
Type kg/m3 % %
Nm/g J/g Nm/g
Untreated 513 18.05 2.15 0.31 3098 -
Restrained HC wing defibrator 446 21.49 3.88 0.59 2620 -
drying
HC wing defibrator
598 64.95 4.50 1.92 5883 -
+ LC valley beater
Untreated 500 15.89 4.23 0.51 1939 2.52

Free drying HC wing defibrator 383 18.01 7.47 0.91 1162 5.35
HC wing defibrator
466 51.32 9.91 2.83 1599 5.80
+ LC valley beater

The data in Table 8 show the effects of combined HC wing defibrator treatment
and LC Valley beating on the mechanical properties of the handsheets. HC wing
defibrator treatment increased the elongation of paper but had only a small effect on the
tensile strength. With the subsequent Valley beating, the load bearing ability of the fibres
and extent of fibre-fibre bonding was greatly enhanced, which was indicated by the
increased paper density and strongly improved strength.

SEM images of the handsheets

The SEM pictures of handsheet surfaces prepared from the pulps, which had been
subjected to the different mechanical treatments, can be found in Fig. 3. The SEM-image
of a handsheet prepared from untreated pulp (A), suggests that fibres were relatively stiff,
less collapsed, and less conformable, but that some fibres had extensive dislocations.
Images of wing defibrator treated fibres (B and C) suggest that the fibres were curlier and
better bonded than the untreated ones. It is possible to observe damage and deformations
in fibres that had been treated with the wing defibrator at 170ºC (Fig. 3D). The
morphology of E-compactor treated fibres (Fig. 3E) differed remarkably from the
morphology of untreated and wing defibrator treated fibres. E-compactor treatment
caused fibre cutting and fibre damage in addition to extensive fibre deformations. The
handsheets (Fig. 3F) from the combined HC and LC treatment show relatively straight
and collapsed fibres with a high degree of fibre bonding and also relatively large dense
areas in the sheet.

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Fig. 3. SEM images of handsheets from different mechanical treatments; (A) Untreated reference
handsheet; (B) wing defibrator treated with SEC of 243kWh/t, 110°C; (C) wing defibrator treated
with SEC of 1129kWh/t at 110°C; (D) wing defibrator treated with SEC of 128kWh/t at 170°C; (E)
E-compactor treated (30%1P2mm); (F) combined HC wing defibrator and LC valley beater
treatment (150 g/m 2)

Factors affecting the elongation potential of paper

The elongation of paper varied according to the different mechanical treatments.
When the handsheets were dried under restraint as shown in Fig. 4, the wing defibrator
treatment (at 110ºC) provided fibres with the higher elongation potential than Valley
beating but paper of lower tensile strength. The combined HC wing defibrator treatment
and Valley beating provided high elongation potential, and at the same time, clearly
higher tensile strength for the paper, in comparison with wing defibrator treated fibres.

120
Restrained drying Free drying
80
100 Untreated
Untreated
Wing defibrator, 110ºC
Tensile index, Nm/g

Tensile index, Nm/g

80 Wing defibrator, 110ºC 60

Wing defibrator, 170ºC Wing defibrator, 170ºC
60 Valley beater Valley beater
40
Wing defibrator +Valley beater Wing defibrator +Valley beater
40

20
20

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Elongation, % Elongation, %
Fig. 4. Elongation versus tensile index of Fig. 5. Elongation versus tensile index of
handsheets with restrained drying. The error handsheets with free drying. The error bar
bars show 95% confidence intervals. shows 95% confidence intervals.

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In the case of freely dried handsheets (Fig. 5.), Valley beating appeared to be a
promising way to obtain high tensile strength and elongation properties of paper. HC
wing defibrator treatment followed by Valley beating seemed to have better elongation
potential at a certain value of tensile strength, compared with Valley beating.
It was expected that there would be a correlation between fibre deformations and
elongation potential of handsheets, since the structure of the single fibres is one of the
factors that determine the mechanical behaviour of the paper. However, the correlation
between the degree of fibre curl and elongation of paper was found to be scattered (in Fig.
6) in the present work. In the initial stage of mechanical treatment, the elongation of
handsheets improved with increasing fibre curl for HC wing defibrator treatment (at
110 C), but even with reducing fibre curl for Valley beating. This result implied that
increasing fibre curl is not necessarily leading to improved elongation. The fibre
deformations contributing to elongation were probably smaller scale deformations than
fibre curl, such as microcompressions. The reduction of fibre curl probably contributes to
better stress distribution in paper, which improved both paper strength and elongation.
The density of the paper has a strong influence on the stress-strain properties of
paper, since the density is directly related to the amount of fibre-fibre contacts. Figure 7
shows that paper elongation generally increased with increasing sheet density for HC
wing defibrator treated fibres (110 C). The extent of fibre bonds determined the
elongation potential of paper for HC wing defibrator treated fibres. For Valley beating,
paper elongation was increased with the sheet density up to a certain point, after which
the sheet density continued to increase, and the elongation stayed constant. These results
suggest that fibre flexibility and bonding are, to a certain point, beneficial for elongation
of the sheet.
5
Restrained drying Restrained drying
5

4
4
Elongation, %

Elongation, %

3
3
Untreated Untreated
2 Wing defibrator, 110ºC Wing defibrator, 110ºC
Wing defibrator, 170ºC 2 Wing defibrator, 170ºC
1 Valley beater Valley beater
Wing defibrator +Valley beater Wing defibrator +Valley beater
0 1
78 80 82 84 86 88 450 500 550 600 650 700 750
Shape factor Density, g/m 3
Fig. 6. Effect of shape factor on the elongation Fig. 7. The effect of the density on the
of handsheets with restrained drying. The error elongation of the handsheets (restrained
bars show 95% confidence intervals. drying). The error bars show 95% confidence
intervals.

The Schopper Riegler number (SR number) can be used for estimation of the
dewatering ability of pulp, and it was correlated with the degree of swelling of fibres and
also with the fibre flexibility and amount of fines. The relation between the elongation of
the freely dried handsheets and SR number of the pulp is shown in Fig. 8. The elongation
of handsheets (freely dried) was increased continuously with increasing SR-number due
to Valley beating. For HC wing defibrator treatment (110 C), the elongation was

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increased even though SR number did not change greatly. Generally, HC wing defibrator
treatment provided higher elongation than Valley beating when compared at a certain
drainage resistance level. The combined HC wing defibrator and LC Valley beating
achieved high elongation and good strength, while drainage resistance and fibre swelling
were on a relatively low level.
The degree of swelling affects the drying shrinkage of handsheets due to the
higher shrinkage of fibres. Water retention value of the pulp can be used for the estima-
tion of the changes in the swelling of fibres. The influence of the water retention of the
pulp on the elongation of restrained and freely dried paper in the case of wing defibrator
treatment is shown in Fig. 9. There was a linear correlation between the WRV of pulp
and the elongation of handsheets, and this correlation was stronger in the case of the
restrained dried handsheets. However, one might say that the WRV was influencing the
elongation of freely dried handsheets to a higher extent, since the trend line was steeper.
This can be explained by the drying shrinkage effect, because shrinkage of paper during
drying is greatly dependent on the degree of swelling of the fibres.

12 12
Free drying No heat, free drying
110ºC, free drying
10 10 R² = 0.81
170ºC, free drying
No heat, restrained drying
Elongation, %

Elongation, %

8 8
110ºC, restrained drying
170ºC, Restrained drying
6 6
Untreated
Wing defibrator, 110ºC
4 4
Wing defibrator, 170ºC
R² = 0.91
Wing defibrator +Valley beater
2 2
Valley beater

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
SR-number WRV, g/g
Fig. 8. Effect of drainage property on the Fig. 9. Effect of water retention value of pulp
elongation of handsheets (free drying). The on the elongation of the handsheets in the
error bars show 95% confidence intervals. case of wing defibrator treatment. The error
bars show 95% confidence intervals.

12
Free drying R² = 0.99

10
R² = 0.75
Elongation, %

6 Untreated
Wing defibrator, 110ºC
Wing defibrator, 170ºC
4
Wing defibrator +Valley beater
Valley beater
2
2 3 4 5 6 7
Shrinkage potential, %
Fig. 10. Correlation between the shrinkage potential and elongation of handsheets (free drying).
The error bars show 95% confidence intervals.

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PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE bioresources.com
Shrinkage potential of the handsheet depends on fibre swelling and subsequent
fibre shrinkage, on the number of fibre bonds where the fibre shrinkage is converted to
axia
(Retulainen et al. 1998). A linear correlation between shrinkage and elongation could be
observed for wing defibrator treated fibres and Valley beaten fibres, as shown in Fig. 10.
When the handsheets were dried without any restraint, shrinkage potential was the crucial
factor determining the elongation of sheets. However, we could speculate that HC wing
defibrator treatment contributes to increased shrinkage through a different mechanism
than Valley beating. Valley beating probably increases the shrinkage and bonding of
fibres, whereas wing defibrator treatment reduces the axial stiffness of the fibres.

CONCLUSIONS

First-thinning bleached pine kraft fibres were treated using selected mechanical
treatments. The development of the elongation of freely and restrained-dried paper was
evaluated through the fibre and fibre network properties. The results indicated that high
consistency wing defibrator treatment caused curl, kinks, dislocations, and
microcompressions in the fibres. Among them, small scale deformations, such as
microcompressions have an important role in the elongation potential of sheets and can
be preserved in subsequent Valley beating, which tends to straighten the fibres and
release kinks and dislocated zones. Increasing fibre curl does not necessarily lead to
improved paper elongation due to the reduced load-bearing ability of curly fibres in the
fibre network. The elongation of the freely dried and restrained dried paper is dependent
on different factors. In the case of freely dried paper, the shrinkage potential is the
dominant factor; while in the case of restrained dried paper, the fibre wall morphology
has a crucial role. The combined high consistency wing defibrator treatment and
subsequent low consistency Valley beating was found to be the best strategy to produce
paper with a high level of elongation, maintaining high tensile strength and good
dewatering properties.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Dr. Sabine Heinemann is thanked for taking the light microscope images. Mr.
Unto Tapper and Ms. Tiina Pöhler are thanked for taking the SEM images. The following
organizations and institutions are acknowledged for providing the financial support for
this work: Finnish Bioeconomy cluster Ltd., China Scholarship Council, National Natural
Science Foundation of China (No.31170549), and VTT Graduate School.

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Article submitted: August 20, 2012; Peer review completed: September 29, 2012;
Revised version received: November 28, 2012; Accepted: December 1, 2012; Published:
December 5, 2012.

Zeng et al. BioResources 8(1), 472-486. 486

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