Effect of board density, resin percentage and pressing temprature on particleboard properties made from mixing of poplar wood slab, citrus branches and twigs of beech
In this study, construction conditions of homogenous particleboard manufactured from mixing of poplar wood (Populus alba) slab, citrus branches and beech (Fagus orientalis) twigs have been investigated. The density of particleboard at three levels of 0.65, 0.7 and 0.75 g.cm-3, the amounts of resin at two levels of 9 and 11% and the amounts of pressing temperature at two levels of 160 and 170° C were considered. Increasing the density from 0.65 to 0.75 led to an increase in MOR, MOE and IB. By increasing the density, water absorption of particleboard decreased but its thickness swelling increased. By increasing the resin percentage the mechanical properties of particleboard improved, although this improvement was not statistically significant. Furthermore, by increasing the resin percentage the dimensional stability of particleboard improved partially. Not only did increasing the pressing temperature have any significant effect on the improving of mechanical properties of the particleboard, but also it has even led to a decrease in IB. Increasing the pressing temperature reduced the water absorption of particleboard in the short term (2 hours) while this increase led to a further increase in the thickness swelling of particleboard.