Resumen

PECHO, Robert; ANANIAS, Rubén A; BALLERINI, Aldo  y  CLOUTIER, Alain. IMPACT OF RADIATA PINE JUVENILE WOOD ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF OSB PANELS. Maderas, Cienc. tecnol. [online]. 2004, vol.6, n.1, pp.45-59. ISSN 0718-221X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-221X2004000100004.

The aim of this project was to study the impact of radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) juvenile wood on the mechanical properties of oriented strandboards (OSB). The wood samples were obtained from 26 years old plantation trees growing in the Eighth Region of Chile. The determination of the juvenile wood zone was based on the radial variation of the growth rings width using an X-ray growth ring analyzer. The characterization of the anatomical structure was performed by image analysis of microtomed sections using a commercial software. The experimental design considers as independent variables the proportion of juvenile wood (0; 30; 70 and 100%) and the orientation of the strands (radial and tangential). The pressing conditions were: temperature of 195ºC, 40 bars maximum pressure, and pressing time of 230 seconds. The results show that the proportion of juvenile wood determines the properties of OSB panels. Specifically, internal bond (0.464 MPa for juvenile wood and 0.698 MPa for mature wood) and modulus of elasticity (3271 MPa for juvenile wood and 5159 for mature wood) decrease significantly with the increase of the juvenile wood proportion. On the other hand, the modulus of rupture (29.3 MPa for juvenile wood and 36.2 MPa for mature wood) was independent of the proportion of juvenile wood

Palabras clave : juvenile wood; mechanical properties; OSB panels; radiate pine.