A Procedure To Determine Water Absorption Distribution In Wood Composite Panels

Authors

  • Wei Xu
  • Paul M. Winistorfer
  • William W. Moschler

Keywords:

medium density fiberboard, oriented strandboard, particleboard, thickness swell distribution, vertical density distribution, water absorption

Abstract

A procedure is presented to determine the water absorption distribution of wood composite panels. The procedure is based on the direct measurement of the vertical density distribution before water soak, the vertical density distribution after the water-soaked specimens have been reconditioned to pre-soak weights, and the construction of the vertical density distribution for the specimens immediately after water soak. The separation of "wood mass" and water was achieved through the application of radiation absorption principles involving the two elements. The procedure was used to examine the water absorption distributions of medium density fiberboard, oriented strandboard, and particle-board. A good agreement was obtained between the estimated average water absorptions and measured water absorptions. Water absorption distribution in relation to the layer density and layer thickness swell was discussed.

References

American Society For Testing and Materials. (ASTM) 1949. Tentative methods of evaluating the properties of wood-base fiber and particle materials. ASTM D 1037-49T. Philadelphia, PA.nAmerican Society For Testing and Materials. (ASTM) 1994. Standard test methods for evaluating properties of wood-base fiber and particle panel materials. ASTM D 1037-93. Philadelphia, PA.nCoppola, M., and P. Reiniger. 1974. Influence of the chemical composition on the gamma-ray attenuation by soils. Soil Sci. 117(6):331-335.nLaufenberg, T. L. 1986. Using gamma radiation to measure density gradients in reconstituted wood products. Forest Prod. J. 36(2):59-62.nOlson, J. R., and D. G. Arganbright. 1981. Prediction of mass attenuation coefficients of wood. Wood Sci. 14(2):86-90.nSuchsland, O. 1973. Hygroscopic thickness swelling and related properties of selected commercial particleboard. Forest Prod. J. 23(7):26-30.nSuchsland, O., D. E. Lyon, and P. E. Short. 1978. Selected properties of commercial medium density fiberboards. Forest Prod. J. 28(9):45-48.nWinistorfer, P. M., and W. Xu. 1996. Layer water absorption of medium density fiberboard and oriented strandboard. Forest Prod. J. In press.nWinistorfer, P. M., W. C. Davis, and W. W. Moschler. 1986. A direct scanning densitometer to measure density profiles in wood composite panel products. Forest Prod. J. 36(11/12):82-86.nWinistorfer, P. M., W. Xu, and C. M. Helton. 1996. Influence of three wax formulations and three application rates on the thickness swell performance of southern pine flake-board. Forest Prod. J. 46(3):63-67.nXu, W. 1993. Horizontal density distribution of particleboard: Origin and implications. Ph.D. dissertation, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC., 166 pp.nXu, W., and P. R. Steiner. 1995. Rationalizing internal bond and thickness swell test specimen size. Wood Fiber Sci. 27(4):389-394.nXu, W., and P. M. Winistorfer. 1995a. Layer thickness swell and layer internal bond of medium density fiber-board and oriented strandboard. Forest Prod. J. 45(10): 67-71.nXu, W., and P. M. Winistorfer. 1995b. A procedure to determine thickness swell distribution in wood composite panels. Wood Fiber Sci. 27(2): 119-125.n

Downloads

Published

2007-06-19

Issue

Number 3 / July 1996

Section

Research Contributions

License

The copyright of an article published in Wood and Fiber Science is transferred to the Society of Wood Science and Technology (for U. S. Government employees: to the extent transferable), effective if and when the article is accepted for publication. This transfer grants the Society of Wood Science and Technology permission to republish all or any part of the article in any form, e.g., reprints for sale, microfiche, proceedings, etc. However, the authors reserve the following as set forth in the Copyright Law:

1. All proprietary rights other than copyright, such as patent rights.

2. The right to grant or refuse permission to third parties to republish all or part of the article or translations thereof. In the case of whole articles, such third parties must obtain Society of Wood Science and Technology written permission as well. However, the Society may grant rights with respect to Journal issues as a whole.

3. The right to use all or part of this article in future works of their own, such as lectures, press releases, reviews, text books, or reprint books.