Effect of Panel Density on Major Properties of Oriented Strandboard

An extensive experimental study was carried out to systematically investigate the influence of panel density on oriented strandboard (OSB) properties. Nine sets of 711 × 711 × 11.1-mm aspen OSB panels with a target density varying 449-705 kg/m3 were manufactured. The panels were tested for major properties, including modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), internal bond strength (IB), water absorption (WA), and thickness swell (TS) after 24-h soaking and rolling shear strength (RS). The results indicated that, in general, panel density positively affected the properties of the OSB panels. Effects of panel density on parallel MOR and MOE, IB, and RS were nonlinear and could be described with convex quadratic curves. TS and WA linearly decreased with increasing panel density