Production and properties of Japanese oriented strand board I: effect of strand length and orientation on strength properties of sugi oriented strand board

Oriented strand boards (OSB) were made using sugi wood strand with different lengths at different free fall distance conditions. Strand alignment and mechanical properties of sugi OSB were evaluated. Results obtained can be summarized as follows. The alignment angle distribution was greatly affected by both free fall distance and strand length. It was found that the standard deviation of the angles can be a measure for predicting the distribution when employing the von Mises distribution function with concentration parameter. The Monte Carlo simulation showed an agreement between the theoretical considerations and the experimental results on the strand alignment. The mechanical properties as affected by both strand length and layer structure were determined. Bending properties could be equal in both directions at 25% face layer ratio. Young's modulus obtained by the in-plane vibration method showed almost linear relation to the face layer ratio. No significant differences or only a slight difference was observed for the internal bond strength, plate-shear modulus, and nail resistance properties. Further studies are necessary.