Determination of microfibril angle distribution by X-ray diffraction

X-ray diffraction is a well-established method for the determination of the mean microfibril angle (MFA). When the sample is a slice of wood variations in the fibre orientation, the shape of the cells, and the measurement geometry affect the intensity curve. A general form for diffraction conditions in terms of angles describing the fibre orientation and the shape of the cell was derived. Intensity curves were calculated by using Monte Carlo method and compared with experimental ones. Both peak fitting and variance methods were used for determining the mean MFA from the intensity curves. Norway spruce was used as an example. Results indicate that deviations in the fibre orientation, the spiral grain, do not affect the mean MFA considerably when using the symmetrical transmission geometry. When using the perpendicular transmission geometry large deviations in spiral grain or tips tend to increase the MFA determined with the variance method and decrease the MFA determined with the fitting method. The shape of the cell should be considered when using the reflection 200 and the fitting method. The variance method is insensitive to the shape of the cell.