Properties of strand boards with uniform and conventional vertical density profiles

Randomly oriented strand boards with both uniform and conventional vertical density profiles (VDP) were manufactured, and their properties were evaluated and compared. The bending modulus of elasticity (MOE) of conventional strand boards was predicted using the laminated beam theory and the MOE-density regression equation from the uniform strand boards. The results showed that the predicted MOE of conventional strand boards was close to the measured MOE with a difference of less than 10%. The internal bond strength values of uniform strand boards were found to be higher than conventional strand boards while no significant difference was found in water-related properties. Compared with uniform strand boards, MOE values of conventional strand boards were improved only at higher density level. About 10% of improvement in MOE can be obtained for the strand boards investigated by manipulating the VDP. Steeper VDPs were predicted to be required for thinner boards than for thick boards in order to achieve the same improvement in MOE.