Influence of production variables on dimensional stability of bamboo–gmelina cement-bonded particle board

Negative environmental impacts caused by many materials, such as asbestos and various types of polymers, have triggered the search for environmentally friendly inputs, wood – cement composite materials are now being investigated with their potentials in this area.This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of selected production variables of dimensional stability on cement-bonded particle board produced from a mixture of Bambusa vulgaris, Gmelina arborea cement and addictive. The production variables are particle geometries (2.0 mm and 2.5 mm), mixing ratios (2.0:1.0:1.0, 2.5:1.0:1.0 and 3.0:1.0:1.0) and density of 1000 kg/m3, 1100 kg/m3 and 1200 kg/m3. The experiment was 2x3x3 factorial in Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Parameters investigated in the study were Water Absorption (%) and Thickness swelling (%).The result showed that the highest mean values for water absorption (WA) was observed in density 1000 kg/m3 at mixing ratio 2:1:1 with mean values of 31.8% and 30.45%, while the least mean value was observed in density 1200 kg at mixing ratio 3:1:1 with mean value of 8.0% and 6.25% for both particle sizes (2.0mm and 2.5mm) respectively. However in thickness swelling the highest mean values, was observed in density 1000kg/m3 at the mixing ratio 2:1:1 with mean value7.99% and 6.18% while the least mean value was observed at the density 1200kg/m3 at mixing ratio 3:1:1 with mean value 0.86%, and 1.48% for both particle sizes (2.0mm and 2.5mm) respectively in cold water immersion. Production variables such as mixing ratio, board density and particle size have great influence on the selected physical properties of Bamboo – Gmelina cement-bonded particle board investigated.Keywords: Productionvariables,Cement-bonded particle board,Dimensional Stabilit