European Journal of Wood and Wood Products (2019) 77:811–819

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-019-01438-3

ORIGINAL

The effect of resin type and strand thickness on applied properties

of poplar parallel strand lumber made from underutilized species
Payam Moradpour1 · Maryam Behnia1 · Hamidreza Pirayesh2 · Younes Shirmohammadli1

Received: 23 October 2018 / Published online: 18 July 2019

© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019

Abstract
In this research, the effect of resin type and strand thickness on the applied properties of parallel strand lumber (PSL) made
from poplar (Populus deltoides L.) was investigated. The laboratory PSL boards with strand thickness of 1 and 2 mm were
manufactured using urea formaldehyde (UF), UF modified with nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), melamine formaldehyde
(MF), melamine formaldehyde-urea formaldehyde (MFUF), phenol formaldehyde (PF) and polymeric isocyanate (pMDI)
as binders. Some technical properties including modulus of rupture (MOR), compression strength parallel to the grain (CS|),
impact strength (IS), water absorption (WA) and thickness swelling (TS) were determined. Besides, shear strength (SS) in
dry and wet conditions was compared for a better understanding of the glue performance. In general, the results showed that
the mechanical properties of panels made with 2 mm thick strands employing PF and pMDI resin were better. Furthermore,
SS values of the resulting boards in dry condition and after cold and hot water immersion showed the crucial influence of
glue and strand thickness on the performance and applicability of PSL. In addition, the physical and mechanical properties
of PSL panels improved by adding nanocrystalline cellulose to urea formaldehyde adhesive.

1 Introduction veneer lumber (LVL), parallel strand lumber (PSL), lami-

nated strand lumber (LSL), oriented strand lumber (OSL),
Over the past half-century, exploitation of forests as a source cross laminated timber (CLT). In EWPs, mechanical and
of timber has become more severe. This condition, on the physical properties, as well as natural resistance of wood,
one hand, caused the diameter of logs extracted from forest have been increased employing different resins; all these fac-
trees to go down (Moradpour et al. 2018) and on the other tors not only lead to increasing efficiency in the utilization
hand, more importance to be ascribed to the fast-growing of forest resources but also to conserving the forests. Of the
species plantation (e.g., poplar, paulownia, eucalyptus etc.). advantages of EWPs that make them competitive materials
Fast-growing species that are usually lightweight and low- in construction industry, lightweight, predictable behavior,
quality woods can hardly be used as structural members. high dimensional stability, lack of concentrated defects (e.g.
These changes are simultaneous with changes in application knot), standardized production of timbers in large scale, size
and attitude regarding wooden materials in buildings (Lam uniformity, simplicity of dismounting and disposal at the
2001; Castro and Fragnelli 2008; Adi et al. 2014). Today’s end of their service life could be mentioned (Shukla and
technology in response to these changes has led to the emer- Kamdem 2008). Furthermore, in manufacturing EWPs,
gence of structural products, namely, engineered wood prod- lightweight wood species due to high compaction ratio have
ucts (EWPs) such as glue laminated timber (GLT), laminated priority (Pirayesh et al. 2015; Moradpour et al. 2018). Ply-
wood and LVL are pioneered layered products introduced to
the market and mostly used in the construction of housing
* Payam Moradpour units in the United States and Canada (Lam 2001; Robert
[email protected]
2009). With regard to the plywood and LVL, which are made
1
Department of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, by sticking wood layers together, the possibility of using
Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, P.O. excess (waste) layers in the production of these products
BOX 31585‑4314, Karaj, Iran does not exist, so engineers offered an interesting product
2
Department of Wood Science and Technology, Faculty named PSL that along with the above-mentioned advantages
of Materials and Advanced Technologies, Shahid Rajaee could also be much cheaper compared to plywood and LVL.
Teacher Training University (SRTTU), Tehran, Iran

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812 European Journal of Wood and Wood Products (2019) 77:811–819

Parallel strand lumber, as one of the structural wood lumbers increase and elongation at break to decrease (Julkapli and
due to its capability of using low quality and fast growing Bagheri 2017). Some researchers have reported improve-
species in different forms and sizes has provided extreme ment in MOR and MOE and decrease in TS and WA after
benefits, especially for countries short of wood like Iran, 24-h water immersion respectively by using NCC (Veigel
where production of PSL could be very competitive due to et al. 2012; Mahrdt et al. 2016; de Almeida Mesquita et al.
the increased need for developed and modernized build- 2018). The correct selection of the adhesive depends on
ings. PSL is used extensively in residential, commercial and the required properties of the EWPs, the working condi-
industrial construction and has already many applications tions during the production as well as often the costs for
as beams, columns, headers, joists, rafters, etc. in construc- the gluing system. This does not only mean the net price of
tion (Shukla et al. 1999). Some of the main disadvantages the adhesive but also the overall costs of the gluing system
of the EWPs are their spring back phenomenon, high water including glue spread factor, the capacity of the line and
absorption and thickness swelling, which are due to the other parameters (Pizzi 1983; Dunky and Pizzi 2002).
nature of wood, as a porous material with high capillary Generally, PSLs are made with strands less than 6 mm
force, etc. Different strategies have been proposed to over- thick, about 19 mm wide, and their average lengths are a
come these drawbacks, like adding wax, treating strands/ minimum of 150 times the least dimension of the wood
chips with chemicals, but none of them seems as effective strand elements. The strand thickness is one of the most
as the employed binder, in other words, adhesives play a important parameters affecting the functional properties of
crucial role in EWPs. the PSLs (Stark et al. 2010). Wei-zhu (2001) also reported
The quality of bonding and properties of the EWPs are that the ratio of veneer-strand length to thickness is a key
determined mainly by three parameters: (1) the wood, espe- technological factor for PSLs.
cially the wood surface, including the interface between the There are only a few investigations done on the effects of
wood surface and the bonding line; (2) the adhesive; (3) the varying PSL processing parameters on its mechanical prop-
working conditions and process parameters (Pirayesh et al. erties (Sukontasukkul et al. 2000, Sukontasukkul and Lam
2013). For a construction material, mechanical properties 2004; Ahmad and Kamke 2011), which makes the design
are of vital importance. In this regard, the quality of con- of PSL members under different loadings problematic, and
nections between wood particles is a key factor, which in the choice of resin can be very determinative in applications
turn is determined by the amount and type of used adhesive of this product.
(Veigel et al. 2012). In the production of wood-based panels, A three-dimensional nonlinear stochastic finite element
various adhesives can be used, like aminoplastic resins (UF, model with size effect adjustment procedures has been
MF, and MF/UF), phenolic resins (PF) or isocyanate (pMDI) developed to simulate the probabilistic distribution of tensile
(Dunky and Pizzi 2002). Regardless of the many advantages strength of parallel-aligned strand based wood assemblies by
of aminoplastic adhesives, their physico-mechanical perfor- Wang and Lam (1998) and a formula of strength modifica-
mance for structural applications is limited. In some cases, a tion factor proposed to predict the probabilistic distribution
combination of resins could also be used. In a previous study of the tensile strength of multiple ply veneer assemblies for
on LSL (Moradpour et al. 2018), it was found that in order various sizes of finite element meshes and a different number
to use UF in EWPs, it needs to be modified. of layers.
One of these modifications can be achieved by adding Clouston (2007) studied the characterization and strength
nanoparticles to UF adhesives. NCC as nanoparticle is modeling of parallel-strand lumber. Based on those results,
generated by removal of amorphous sections of a puri- constitutive curves for PSL were numerically generated
fied cellulose source by acid hydrolysis, often followed under tensile, compressive and three-point bending condi-
by ultrasonic treatment (Sun et al. 2014). NCC possess tions. Comparison of the computed and experimental data
some unique and exceptional attributes, like renewability, sets demonstrates the validity of the proposed modeling
biodegradability, mechanical and physicochemical charac- technique.
teristics. In addition, the incorporation of a small amount A recent study, conducted by Amini et al. (2017), on mod-
of NCC to the material can also improve their technical eling the effect of void shapes on the compressive behavior
properties (Julkapli and Bagheri 2017). NCC, by increas- of parallel strand lumber revealed that linear elastic analyses
ing the UF resins viscosity, can prevent penetration of too representing voids as equivalent ellipsoids do not affect the
much adhesive into the wood, and avoid “glue starvation” effective elastic moduli and stress distributions in the models
phenomena (Veigel et al. 2011; de Almeida Mesquita et al. under uniaxial loading, and nonlinear analyses confirmed
2018). High slenderness ratio of NCC could result in pow- that the overall nonlinear compressive behavior of the mod-
erful interaction of the NCC with surrounding matrices to els with equivalent ellipsoids is similar to that of their cor-
form an integrated resin. Addition of NCC could result responding models with actual voids. In this study, the effect
in composite stiffness and ultimate tensile strength to of resin type and strand thickness on applied properties of

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European Journal of Wood and Wood Products (2019) 77:811–819 813

poplar parallel strand lumber made from underutilized spe- NCC in the resin solution. PMDI at the level of 6%, PF 8%,
cies was investigated. MF 10% and UF 14% (based on oven dry weight) were used
as adhesives. The characteristics and level of the resins in
the panel production are shown in Table 1.
2 Materials and methods
2.2 PSL manufacturing process
2.1 Materials
The PSL panels were produced in the laboratory, following
Poplar (Populus deltoides) logs were obtained from Khei- the standard procedures simulating standard circumstances.
rud educational and research forest, Mazandaran, Iran To produce the required strands, veneers with 1 and 2 mm
(36°36′51″N 51°33′26″E). PMDI and chloride ammo- thickness were prepared by rotary-cutting of poplar debarked
nium (as a hardener of UF; 1.5%) were supplied by Sigma- logs (that have been provided with courtesy of Qazvin Iran-
Aldrich, Germany. PF resin was purchased from Ayegh choob Company) and dried by roller driers at 120 °C until
Electric Company, Iran. UF and MF resins were prepared 6-8% moisture content. In the next step, the dried veneers
by Tiran Chim Company, Iran. A 6.2 wt% aqueous NCC were cut into strands with 19 mm width by pneumatic veneer
suspension was purchased from the University of Maine, clipper and to 600 mm length by band saw. Then, the glu-
USA. After adding 2% NCC (based on dry weight of resin), ing of strands with different resins was done using a pneu-
the UF adhesive mixture was first stirred with a mechanical matic spray gun. After gluing, strand mat formation was
stirrer and then homogenized for 5 min at 20,000 rpm using done in a mold (600 × 600 mm) and strands were oriented
an Ultra-Turrax device (T10 basic Ultra-Turrax) to achieve in longitudinal direction on a steel sheet (Fig. 1). The strand
appropriate homogenization degree and dispersion of the mat was placed in the press for 8 min at a temperature of

Table 1  Characteristics of the Resin type Solid con- Density (g/cm3) Viscosity (CP) Gel time (s) PH Level of
resins tent (%) ­resina (%)

UF 64 1.27 200 55 7.5 14

UF/NCC 62 1.29 215 58 7.1 14
MF 54 1.195 100 300 10 10
MFUF 59 1.22 150 177 8.7 12
PF 70 1.3 160 355 8.2 8
pMDI 99 1.273 300 – – 6
a
Based on oven dry weight

Fig. 1  Laboratory procedure of PSL production; a strands, b strand forming, c PSL board

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814 European Journal of Wood and Wood Products (2019) 77:811–819

Table 2  Experimental design To investigate the effect of strand thickness and resin
Board type Adhesive Strand thickness Replication type on board properties, boards with different functional
(mm) factors were determined. The experimental design is
shown in Table 2. For each treatment, 3 boards and a total
Controla – – 9
of 36 boards were made. From each board, at least 3 test
UF-1 UF 1 9
specimens were tested.
UF-2 UF 2 9
Some mechanical and physical properties including
UF/NCC-1 UF/NCC 1 9
modulus of rupture (MOR), compression strength paral-
UF/NCC-2 UF/NCC 2 9
lel to the grain (CS|), impact strength (IS), shear strength
MF-1 MF 1 9
(SS), water absorption (WA) and thickness swelling (TS)
MF-2 MF 2 9
were determined following EN and ASTM standards
MFUF-1 MFUF 1 9
(Table 3) (for brevity their acronyms are used).
MFUF-2 MFUF 2 9
Three-point flat-wise bending test on a short span under
PF-1 PF 1 9
center-point load was performed using the Instron test-
PF-2 PF 2 9
ing machine (model 4488) with force–displacement con-
pMDI-1 pMDI 1 9
trol mode following ASTM D 4761 (2013). The load was
pMDI-2 pMDI 2 9
applied under displacement control mode at a constant
a
Sawn poplar lumber rate of 10 mm/min. The span was set as 42 cm for the
bending test. A typical bending set-up is illustrated in
Fig. 2a. Upon loading, the experiment was transferred to
Table 3  Tests specimens detail a set computer programmed to register and analyze all data
Tests Standard Dimensions (mm) Specification
received through a load cell connected to the Instron test-
ing machine. Compression parallel to grain direction was
MOR ASTM D 4761-13 460 × 50 × 20 Fig. 2a applied using the Instron testing machine (model 4488).
σCS|| ASTM D 198-15 90 × 20 × 20 Fig. 2b The load rate was set to be 5 mm/min. In short columns,
SS ASTM D 143-14 63 × 50 × 20 Fig. 2c where the length to gyration radius is lower than 17, buck-
IS ASTM D 143-14 280 × 20 × 20 Fig. 2d ling does not occur and hence there is no need for lateral
WAa EN 300 (1997) 50 × 50 × 20 – support. Compression strength was calculated using a
TSa EN 300 (1997) 50 × 50 × 20 – computer (Fig. 2b). Shear strength parallel to grain test
a
Samples were horizontally immersed in water at 20 °C for 2 and 24 h
was performed using the Instron testing machine (model
4488) on a 50 by 50 by 63 mm3 specimen notched on a 50
by 50 mm2 surface to produce failure. The load rate was
170 °C and under a pressure of 200psi (14 kg/cm2). Finally, set to be 0.6 mm/min and an ultimate load was calculated
the average specific gravity of the PSL panels was 0.75 gr/ using a computer (Fig. 2c). Impact strength in Charpy
cm3. PSL boards after conditioning in a standard climate mode was tested following ASTM D 143 (2014) (Fig. 2d).
room at 23 °C and 63% relative humidity to reach the mois-
ture content of about 12% were cut to a final dimension of
550 × 550 × 20 mm3.

Fig. 2  Experimental set up. a Flexural strength, b compression strength, c shear strength and d impact strength

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2.3 Statistical analyses 3 Results and discussions

The effects of resin type and strand thickness on the 3.1 Mechanical properties
properties of the PSL board were evaluated by SPSS sta-
tistical analysis. For checking the normality, Kolmogo- Analysis of variances of the mechanical and physical proper-
rov–Smirnov test was used and the amount of P ≤ 0.05 ties of PSLs is shown in Table 4. There are several param-
indicated that the data follow a normal distribution. The eters that affect the structural response of strand-based wood
Duncan’s range tests were performed to detect whether composites such as wood species properties, resin content,
there are significant differences between the mean values density profile, the orientation of wood strands and layer
of the various panel types as well as to identify which assembly (Moses et al. 2003; Stürzenbecher et al. 2010).
groups were significantly different from the others at 99 Significant differences between groups were determined
and/or 95% confidence level (p ≤ 0.01 and p ≤ 0.05). individually for these tests by Duncan’s multiple comparison
tests. The results of Duncan’s multiple range tests are shown
in Table 5 by letters.

Table 4  Analysis of variances for the mechanical and physical properties of PSL boards
Source of MOR σCSǁ IS SS WA TS
variation
Dry Cold wet Hot wet (2 h) (24 h) (2 h) (24 h)

MS 9831.99 2838.31 7.96 733.75 841.41 656.7 914.35 2952.09 336.19 2121.65
F 41** 53.99** 8.53** 132.92** 387.13** 547.73** 94.09** 480.6** 231.97** 546.51**
MS 22597.51 984.64 44.5 537.11 63.32 49.7 199.57 422.11 22.84 162.5
F 94.25** 18.73** 47.7** 97.3** 29.13** 41.46** 20.53** 68.72** 15.76** 41.86**
MS 134.56 71.54 1.58 7.85 6.48 1.58 4.89 21.09 0.49 2.63
F 0.56ns 1.36ns 1.69ns 1.42ns 2.98* 1.32ns 0.5ns 3.43** 0.34ns 0.67ns

MS mean of squares, F F value, ns not significant

**Significance level of 0.01, *Significance level of 0.05

Table 5  Mechanical properties of PSL boards

Board type MOR (MPa) σCS|| (MPa) IS (J/cm2) SS (MPa)
Dry Cold ­weta Hot ­wetb

Control 50.76f (11.05) 30.96d (13.50) 5.69 h (12.47) 4.73 g (21.98) 4.12f (21.84) 3.63gh (23.96)
UF-1 67.42e (13.72) 36.53cd(12.23) 6.15gh (10.73) 7.04f (15.19) 3.29ef (15.80) 2.38i (14.7)
UF-2 96.45d (14.82) 48.24b (15.9) 7.43cde (7.13) 11.73e (17.13) 4.15ef (20.24) 2.97hi (28.61)
UF/NCC-1 72.24e (15.46) 39.10c (9.2) 7.03def (19.20) 8.33f (18.24) 4.56ef (17.98) 2.33i (23.47)
UF/NCC-2 100.17d (10.38) 48.30b (17.06) 7.78bcd (19.02) 12.10e (11.81) 4.75def (23.57) 3.59gh (25.9)
MF-1 78.15e (14.80) 47.29b (16.70) 6.34fgh (9.93) 7.60f (12.63) 6.11d (25.96) 4.92ef (27.23)
MF-2 105.88cd (11.42) 52.2b (23.95) 8.25abc (7.15) 13.7e (10.36) 9.38c (12.26) 7.12d (17.13)
MFUF-1 74.44e (4.70) 45.88b (17.24) 6.70efg (8.80) 7.15f (24) 5.50de (22.36) 4.10fg (35.6)
MFUF-2 103.18d (6.22) 46.50b (20.86) 8.44ab (8.05) 12.62e (5.78) 8.24c (18.56) 5.28e (24.81)
PF-1 111.69cd (10.25) 67.03a (7.83) 8.51ab (15.74) 16.51d (11.93) 15.14b (20.87) 13.86c (5.99)
PF-2 133.26b (10.66) 73.32a (7.36) 8.91a (7.74) 18.86c (18.18) 16.02b (8.23) 14.27c (11.42)
pMDI-1 119.94bc (14.71) 67.69a (11.67) 7.27def (15.54) 23.07b (23.79) 20.31a (4.03) 15.71b (8.40)
pMDI-2 158.52a (10.10) 70.17a (9.63) 8.87a (12.85) 27.44a (7.54) 22.57a (3.63) 17.27a (8.91)

The numbers in parentheses are coefficient of variation (COV)

a
Samples were immersed in water at room temperature for 24 h then tested in the wet state
b
Samples were immersed in water at 60 °C for 4 h then tested in the wet state
a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i
Values having the same letter are not significantly different (Duncan test)

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816 European Journal of Wood and Wood Products (2019) 77:811–819

The MOR of the PSL panels ranged from 50 MPa for PMDI and PF in comparison with MF and UF resins, which
panel type control to 158 MPa for panel type pMDI-2. are known as aminoplastics, create stronger bonds and
For a material to be considered as a building material, it increased mechanical properties. In the structure of pMDI
should have the required engineering properties suitable for resin, there is no water, therefore in the polymerization pro-
construction works. For instance, columns (or ‘pillars’ or cess, the entire resin without changing or conversion to other
‘posts’) that are vertical elements and support axial loads, substances is used to connect the strands and this feature
they experience compression, or beams are mainly subjected increases the bonding strength. PSL boards prepared with
to bending and shear forces under loads. Due to high MOR UF containing NCC showed better mechanical properties
of PSL panels made with PF and pMDI, their deformation is than boards produced with pure UF. Probably, NCC could
low, hence they are particularly suitable as beams, a member react with both functional groups of UF as well as strands
that is mainly subjected to bending. and improve the mechanical properties. Further, according
Concerning ­CS|| and IS, the highest value, 73 MPa and to Veigel et al. (2011), improvement in mechanical proper-
8.9 J/cm2 was related to panel type PF-2. However, the low- ties can be attributed to high surface area of NCC and the
est MOR (50 MPa), ­CS|| (31 MPa), IS (5.7 J/cm2) values high reactivity of UF/NCC adhesives compared to the pure
were determined for panel type control, made with sawn UF, that can enhance the integrity of the UF/NCC inter-
poplar wood. The highest value of compression strength par- face with strands and increase in the adhesive viscosity and
allel to the grain (73.32 MPa) was obtained for the speci- decrease in the penetration into the cellular wood cavities.
men made of PF resin and 2 mm strand thickness (Table 5). At the same dimensions, regardless of resin type, PSLs of
Likewise, the specimen made of pMDI resin and 2 mm poplar wood had significantly higher MOR, SS, CS, IS and
strand thickness had compression strength parallel to the lower WA and TS values in comparison to poplar massive
grain of 70.17 MPa. The lowest compression strength paral- wood. This is not only due to the gluing, pressure nor due to
lel to the grain value obtained for the specimen made of UF densification that PSLs undergo, but also minimization of
resin and 1 mm strand thickness was 36.53 MPa. In gen- natural defects and change to more materials that are homo-
eral, it was observed that specimens made of 2 mm strand geneous are effective factors. Based on the results, employ-
thickness, regardless of resin type, had higher strength than ing UF and UF modified with NCC in producing PSL from
1 mm strand thickness specimens. The value of compression poplar probably can be satisfactory for indoor applications
strength parallel to the grain is important in the design of in dry condition. This can be due to the following reasons;
piles and columns in wood buildings. Concerning SS in wet first, as a direct result of higher pressure and consequently
condition (Table 5), in comparison to the other mechanical high curing energy needed to consolidate the PSL mat of
properties, the effect of resin was more determinative, so poplar bulk mat as well as to resist the strain induced dur-
that for PSL panels made with pMDI and PF, the decrease ing the pressing process, thus, overcoming them needs a
in SS after hot water immersion was very low in comparison strong resin. Second, spring back phenomenon that is more
to UF, MF and MFUF counterparts. intensive for light species. In other words, porous species
In general, the mechanical properties of panels made with like poplar that have a high bulk volume of strands, affect-
2 mm thick strands were higher. For instance, the average ing the ability of the substrates to absorb water and other
MOR for boards made of 1 mm strand thickness and UF solvents from the adhesives, hence allowing some of the
resin was 67.42 MPa, while for boards made of the same adhesives to be absorbed over larger surface areas. Unlike
resin and 2 mm strand thickness, an increase of 43% was high-density species, due to above-mentioned reasons the
recorded. In the same way, by increasing the strand thickness choice of resin/binder is very decisive in lightweight spe-
from 1 mm to 2 mm in MF, PF, and pMDI resins, the MOR cies. Hence, using extremely reactive and strong resins like
increased by 35%, 19%, and 32%, respectively (Table 5). pMDI and PF is inevitable. Penetration of adhesives only to
Since the amount of resin in boards with 1 and 2 mm strand cell cavities—not cell walls or lumen—is beneficial (Salari
thickness was the same, due to lower glue demanding sur- et al. 2012). Despite PF, pMDI not only penetrates the mac-
face, the average value of strength was higher for boards roscopic hollows of the wood substance but also penetrates
made of strands with 2 mm thickness. According to the the polymer structure of the wood (Dunky and Pizzi 2002).
shear strength test results, the average shear strength in This can partially justify the difference in properties of PSLs
dry state of boards made of 2 mm strand thickness and UF bonded with PF and pMDI. Based on the mechanical proper-
resin was 11.7 MPa, for boards made of 2 mm strand thick- ties results and with a simple comparison to a previous study
ness and PF resin it was 18.8 MPa, and for boards made of (Moradpour et al. 2018), producing PSL using all types of
2 mm strand thickness and pMDI resin it was 27.44 MPa. resins considered in this study except for UF from poplar
Therefore, in this experiment, the effect of resin type on the wood as an underutilized lightweight fast-growing species
shear strength can be observed clearly. The panels bonded is more sensible with higher value-added in comparison to
with PF and pMDI had the highest mechanical properties. other EWPs such as LVL and LSL.

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Figures 3 and 4 reveal the failure patterns under dif- 3.2 Physical properties
ferent loading in PSL boards. In total, failure in massive
wood subjected to bending occurs in the outer surfaces, The results of ANOVA for WA and TS of the experimental
which experience compression or tension stress (Koll- PSLs for 2 and 24 h of water immersion time are given in
man et al. 1975), but in the PSLs, the fracture occurred in Table 4. As can be seen, the WA and TS values of the treat-
the middle of the samples near the neutral axis (Fig. 3). ments improved between 20–82% and 5–88% for 2-h water
Moreover, the fracture of the PSLs also occurred in the immersion time, respectively in comparison to the control
middle of the sample under compression parallel to the samples (Fig. 5).
grain (Fig. 4a). Since in this research, the press condition Likewise, for-24-h water immersion time, these figures
was constant, this kind of failure mode could be due to were 22–81% and 2–80% respectively. PSL panels with a
inadequate time or heat near the neutral axis as well as broad range of physical properties, WA from 13 to 65% and
high concentrated stress. Consequently, steam accumula- TS from 8 to 39%, can be obtained using different resins and
tion and poor adhesion near the middle layers and high strand thicknesses for 24-h water immersion time. Accord-
concentrated stress could be the reason for the shear failure ing to the results, physical properties of PSLs made of 2 mm
(Fig. 3). The failure under impact strength is also shown thickness strands were better. Furthermore, the results of TS
in Fig. 4b. and WA had similar trends to the SS in the wet state.

Fig. 3  Fracture patterns in

flexural strength samples

Fig. 4  Fracture pattern in samples: a compression parallel to the grain. b Impact strength

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818 European Journal of Wood and Wood Products (2019) 77:811–819

Fig. 5  Water absorption and 80 50

thickness swelling values of 72 45
the panels after 2 and 24 water WA(2h) WA(24h) TS(2h) TS(24h)
immersion 64 40

thickness swelling(%)
Water absorpon(%)
56 35
48 30
40 25
32 20
24 15
16 10
8 5
0 0

board type

Based on Fig. 5, it can be concluded that pMDI has the suitable for outdoor applications such as exterior decoration,
lowest average values in WA and TS tests. PMDI is a resin trims, pillars, etc.
with excellent heat and moisture resistance, which allows
the use of wood products in outdoor applications that are
exposed to cyclic wetting and drying and high temperatures 4 Conclusion
(Eckelman 1999). Tight connections between the strands
will prevent the access of water into the products and Based on this study the following conclusions can be drawn:
delamination of the panels. Under the combined influence
of pressure and heat, cell lumens in hardwood collapse, and 1. Depending on the intended use, parallel strand lumber
a certain amount of fracture in cell walls develops leading with different mechanical and physical properties can be
to dimensional instability in the form of thickness swelling produced using different resins and strand thicknesses.
that is more severe for lightweight raw materials (Salari et al. 2. Using urea formaldehyde and even urea formaldehyde
2012). The highest WA and TS belonged to PSLs bonded modified with nanocrystalline cellulose in producing
with UF because this resin is not a waterproof binder and parallel strand lumber from poplar for indoor applica-
absorbs moisture when exposed to humid conditions. The tion could be recommended.
physical properties of PSLs were improved by adding the 3. Water absorption and thickness swelling had similar
NCC to UF adhesive. NCC has lower water absorption com- trends to the shear strength in the wet state, indicating
pared to the UF adhesive, therefore, by adding the NCC, the determinative effect of resin on these properties.
water absorption and thickness swelling could be decreased. 4. Fracture patterns in the form of shear failure were
When EWP panels were immersed in water, high swelling observed for parallel strand lumbers.
took place because of the high porosity of the strands, their 5. As columns experience compression, parallel strand
high hygroscopicity, spring back (the release of compressive lumbers bonded with phenol formaldehyde might be
forces concentrated during panel manufacturing) and water the best choice.
absorption affinity of UF (Salari et al. 2012). Based on the 6. The physico-mechanical properties of parallel strand
results, MF resins high resistance to water absorption was its lumbers were improved using 2 mm thick strands.
main distinguishing characteristic from UF resins, and the 7. High resistance to water is the main distinguishing char-
physical properties values of MF bonded PSLs were between acteristic of melamine formaldehyde bonded parallel
those of UF and pMDI bonded PSLs. The excellent applica- strand lumbers compared to urea formaldehyde coun-
tion properties of pMDI and resulting PSL panels are based terpart.
on the specific properties of pMDI including the excellent 8. It is concluded that producing parallel strand lumbers
wetting behavior of a wood surface as compared to aqueous from poplar as an underutilized lightweight fast-grow-
condensation resins (Dunky and Pizzi 2002). PMDI and PF ing species is more suitable with higher value-added in
are waterproof resins that tightly keep the strands beside comparison to other engineered wood products such as
each other and do not let water molecules penetrate inside laminated veneered lumber and laminated strand lumber.
the PSL structure. This is why WA and TS of the resulting 9. Studying the performance of the resulting parallel strand
panels were so low (very close to the poplar massive wood), lumber with real dimensions as a structural member

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European Journal of Wood and Wood Products (2019) 77:811–819 819

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