Page 56 - FDMAsia Mar/Apr 2026

54 MATERIALS MAR/APR 2026 FDM ASIA | www.fdmasia.com

tomonikon addition, strong negative correlations were identified between
WA and MOR (r = -0.70) and between WA and IB (r = -0.71),
indicating that higher water absorption is associated with lower
mechanical performance.
The measured TS values of the obtained particleboards
varied substantially, ranging from 9 percent to 42 percent.

A strong negative correlation was observed between TS
and pressing temperature (r = -0.67), indicating that higher
pressing temperatures improved TS performance.
On average, boards made from LS particles exhibited
An initial assessment of LS particle fractions and pressing approximately two-fold lower TS compared with boards from
time indicated that particles >2 mm yielded the highest bending RE particles, which can be attributed to the different binder
properties (MOE 900 N/mm², MOR 6 N/mm²). In contrast, contents.
pressing times of 0.8 and 1.2 min/mm did not produce significant However, similar to the WA results, when comparing boards
differences in the evaluated properties. manufactured from the three different furnish particle types

Based on these findings and the fractional composition of under identical conditions and density, the difference in TS
the LS furnish, subsequent boards were manufactured as three- values was insignificant.
layer structures: the core layer was composed of particles >1 Increasing the binder content from 21 percent to 25 percent
mm, and the face layers were composed of particles <1 mm. in boards made from LS furnish resulted in only insignificant
The density values of the obtained particleboards ranged differences in both WA and TS values. However, in the case
from 620 to 960 kg/m³, exceeding the initially targeted density of RE furnish, raising the binder content from 15 percent to
range. 21 percent improved water resistance, with the effect being

After 24 hours immersion in water, the WA values of the statistically significant in the case of TS.
obtained particleboards ranged from 49 percent to 109 percent. The MOR values of the produced particleboards ranged
The variation in WA values was substantial and was primarily from 2.0 N/mm² to 10.3 N/mm², showing a strong dependence
dependent on board density (r = -0.73). A moderate influence on board density (r = 0.65).
of pressing temperature was also observed (r = -0.39), with The MOE values varied between 360 N/mm² and 2040
lower WA values recorded for boards hot-pressed at a higher N/mm² and, although the dependence on density was lower,
temperature (220°C). the correlation remained strong (r = 0.51). A very strong
On average, boards made from LS particles exhibited correlation (r = 0.79) obtained between MOR and MOE of
lower WA (76 percent) than those made from RE particles (87 the boards indicates that the boards exhibit high stiffness but

percent), indicating the influence of particle geometry. However, relatively low strength.
this effect was also linked to binder content. On average, boards manufactured from RE particles
For example, when comparing boards made from different achieved higher MOE and MOR values than those made from
furnishes but with the same binder content, WA values did LS particles. It is also noteworthy that the highest bending
not differ significantly. values for LS-based boards were obtained at a high density
A strong positive correlation (r = 0.52) between WA and (960 kg/m³), whereas the RE-based board with the highest
TS values was observed across the different furnishes. In bending performance reached these values at a density of