Observation of Microscopic Deformation Behavior of Cork

Cork is a material that has many characteristics, for instance, light weight, elasticity, insulation against heat, impermeability for liquid, and so forth. There are two types of cork, the natural and the agglomerated corks. In the present paper, compression tests of the natural and the agglomerated cork specimens were carried out. The compression test were done in various directions. Compressive stress was measured by a original compression apparatus, and stress-strain curves were obtained in various directions of the cork specimens. In the natural cork, there are differences between the radial and the non-radial direction. The recovery of dimensions after compression was also studied in respective directions. The structure of the deformed surface was observed by a scanning electron microscope.